Cute baby lambs! Photo from the RamWools Co-op website.
Fashion and knitwear designer, obsessed with couture embroidery and beadwork.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Sorry, I haven't posted in forever. I've been occupied with all sorts of things but I'm going to try harder to post a little more frequently.
A couple of nights ago, I went to a meeting of my fashion business networking group otherwise known as SFFAMA. They hold meetings once month that are intended to educate startup designers and retailers. The speakers included a self-taught designer/consultant, a self-important designer/retailer, a startup designer of a denim line, and a guy who teaches at-risk teenagers sewing and job skills while also running his own denim repair line and making custom jeans for friends and clients.
Each of the speakers had something interesting to say, although some were more helpful than others. The designer/consultant had all kinds of helpful tips about how she got started and built her business even though she had no design experience. She's had a few more advantages than the average newbie, such as an already existent network of suppliers in India, China and the Phillipines along with family members who can keep track of contractors in those countries and her own personal web designer/manager. We should all be so lucky.
The second speaker has a small retail store and online presence to go with an extremely large ego. He spent much of his time commenting on how sloppy the audience was dressed, how there are no stylish people in San Francisco, and how his extremely high end fashions are too good for any mere mortals to look at or, worse, TOUCH. He didn't have a lot to contribute to the group because he made it clear that he thought he was better than everyone else. The take-away I got from his contribution: If you're invited to speak to a group of people because someone considers you an expert, DON'T insult your audience and DON'T make snide remarks about the people sitting next to you. (They can actually hear you.)
I was initially appalled by the jeans that the denim designer was wearing. I'd seen him wearing them at a previous meeting and wondered if his daughter made them for him because they're essentially baggy jeans made of patch-worked denim. It turns out, he has discovered a very specific niche market for his jeans among the festival crowd along with ravers and clubbers. People who go to Love Parade or Burning Man, apparently love his hippie chic baggy jeans with a home-made feel. Once he'd explained his niche, I stopped sneering and realized he'd done his homework and was working very hard to build his market share. Besides cold calling every boutique in America that sells designer denim, he sends free pairs of his jeans to agents, managers and stylists for celebrities in hopes that someone will actually wear them in public. While I can't think of the celebrity who could pull off the baggy patchwork jean look without looking like an idiot, I'm absolutely sure there is one and if there is one, this guy will find them. Yet another note to self "Not everyone can be judged by their appearance."
The final speaker was a young guy who could easily be a model, despite his waist length dreadlocks and multiple piercings. His laid back demeanor initially made most of us write him off as having smoked a little too much ganja. He quickly disspelled those ideas when he explained that while he isn't really a designer, he actually had a good business idea that he was able to start with very little capital. His business not only provides him with a living but also gives back to the community. He started off with the idea of retrofitting an ice cream cart with a treadle sewing machine and shelving. The whole thing collapses down and can be wheeled around and set up in high traffic areas and in or near stores where his products are a perfect fit. On his mobile sewing lab, he repairs and hems denim. He also creates "carnivorous" stuffed animals which are sewn and stuffed with denim scraps. Finally, he created a program for at-risk teens to teach them, not only how to sew, but also to give them useful job skills (like how to show up on time for work). He's expanded his business model to include a number of these retrofitted ice cream carts. I can't wait to see where he takes this idea.
I think every one of the speakers taught themselves how to sew and just had a driving need to create something. One was an artist who decided his vision was better translated to denim. Another was in real estate but found a way to match his love of music with a unique denim style. Still another was in the medical field but had a love of fashion and eventually decided that passion just couldn't be ignored. It made me feel better about walking away from a lucrative career to pursue something that feeds my soul.
A couple of nights ago, I went to a meeting of my fashion business networking group otherwise known as SFFAMA. They hold meetings once month that are intended to educate startup designers and retailers. The speakers included a self-taught designer/consultant, a self-important designer/retailer, a startup designer of a denim line, and a guy who teaches at-risk teenagers sewing and job skills while also running his own denim repair line and making custom jeans for friends and clients.
Each of the speakers had something interesting to say, although some were more helpful than others. The designer/consultant had all kinds of helpful tips about how she got started and built her business even though she had no design experience. She's had a few more advantages than the average newbie, such as an already existent network of suppliers in India, China and the Phillipines along with family members who can keep track of contractors in those countries and her own personal web designer/manager. We should all be so lucky.
The second speaker has a small retail store and online presence to go with an extremely large ego. He spent much of his time commenting on how sloppy the audience was dressed, how there are no stylish people in San Francisco, and how his extremely high end fashions are too good for any mere mortals to look at or, worse, TOUCH. He didn't have a lot to contribute to the group because he made it clear that he thought he was better than everyone else. The take-away I got from his contribution: If you're invited to speak to a group of people because someone considers you an expert, DON'T insult your audience and DON'T make snide remarks about the people sitting next to you. (They can actually hear you.)
I was initially appalled by the jeans that the denim designer was wearing. I'd seen him wearing them at a previous meeting and wondered if his daughter made them for him because they're essentially baggy jeans made of patch-worked denim. It turns out, he has discovered a very specific niche market for his jeans among the festival crowd along with ravers and clubbers. People who go to Love Parade or Burning Man, apparently love his hippie chic baggy jeans with a home-made feel. Once he'd explained his niche, I stopped sneering and realized he'd done his homework and was working very hard to build his market share. Besides cold calling every boutique in America that sells designer denim, he sends free pairs of his jeans to agents, managers and stylists for celebrities in hopes that someone will actually wear them in public. While I can't think of the celebrity who could pull off the baggy patchwork jean look without looking like an idiot, I'm absolutely sure there is one and if there is one, this guy will find them. Yet another note to self "Not everyone can be judged by their appearance."
The final speaker was a young guy who could easily be a model, despite his waist length dreadlocks and multiple piercings. His laid back demeanor initially made most of us write him off as having smoked a little too much ganja. He quickly disspelled those ideas when he explained that while he isn't really a designer, he actually had a good business idea that he was able to start with very little capital. His business not only provides him with a living but also gives back to the community. He started off with the idea of retrofitting an ice cream cart with a treadle sewing machine and shelving. The whole thing collapses down and can be wheeled around and set up in high traffic areas and in or near stores where his products are a perfect fit. On his mobile sewing lab, he repairs and hems denim. He also creates "carnivorous" stuffed animals which are sewn and stuffed with denim scraps. Finally, he created a program for at-risk teens to teach them, not only how to sew, but also to give them useful job skills (like how to show up on time for work). He's expanded his business model to include a number of these retrofitted ice cream carts. I can't wait to see where he takes this idea.
I think every one of the speakers taught themselves how to sew and just had a driving need to create something. One was an artist who decided his vision was better translated to denim. Another was in real estate but found a way to match his love of music with a unique denim style. Still another was in the medical field but had a love of fashion and eventually decided that passion just couldn't be ignored. It made me feel better about walking away from a lucrative career to pursue something that feeds my soul.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Take back the knit | San Francisco Bay Guardian
Take back the knit | San Francisco Bay Guardian
I love taking something that reminds many (possibly most) people of something only their grandma would do, and turning it into something more subversive. I've heard of Knitta Please and other groups that knit colorful crazy things in secret and then sneak out at night to display them on something very public like a street sign or public sculpture. I'll just have to make sure my route takes me down Divis sometime soon so I can catch this latest display of artistic talent.
It reminded me of a video I saw around Christmas time of the artist Olek who crocheted a whole bunch of granny squares together to make an entire cover for the Wall Street bull.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Local Networking
I've been crazy busy doing couture embroidery for another designer and have not had time to blog for a few weeks. Now it's time to catch up.
The other night, my friend Kat and I went to a fashion event organized by a local industry networking group that's based in the Bay Area. Regardless of where you live, if your dream is to become a fashion or jewelry designer or even if you plan to have your own boutique, you need to network with people in your local community who can provide valuable assistance as you build your business. For some, that may be a local school or club that can help you build skills and knowledge to help you move forward. For others, there may be business networking groups tailored to your industry that can help you navigate everything from local business regulations to sourcing and finding skilled labor.
In San Francisco, we're lucky to have a variety of resources available. One of these is the San Francisco Fashion and Merchants Alliance aka SFFAMA. It's targeted toward startup Bay Area indie designers and fashion boutiques and helping them network, and build their businesses. I don't remember exactly how I found out about SFFAMA but it was while I was trolling the internet shortly before I graduated. SFFAMA has periodic networking meetings where a roundtable discussion of people from the local fashion industry discuss how they got their business off the ground. The speakers range from bloggers to designers to store owners. I've found the info extremely helpful because you can ask questions of people who know what you're going through.
In addition to meetings, there are indie bazaars, fashion shows and other activities and events that bring the local fashion community together. The other night, the event was something called Fashion Feud. It's like a speedy version of Project Runway, conducted in front of a live audience. Knowing how long it takes me just to draft a pattern, the thought of designing and making an outfit in an hour is enough to give me nightmares. My friend Kat and I are both recent fashion school graduates so we were intrigued to see what these designers could do.
To make their task even more difficult, the designers have no idea what the fabrics will be until the start of the competition. Apparently, for the evening we were there, someone had contacted Mood Fabrics (the same supplier of fabrics for Project Runway designers) and received fabric donations. All I can say is, Mood must get a lot of these requests and they must be getting REALLLLLLYYYYYYYY tired of them. The donations this night, consisted of an orange and white reversible gingham/ dot printed fabric and a solid black fabric. Yes folks, it's bad enough that you have to design and make your outfit in one hour, you also have to do it with Halloween colors.
While the designers cut and sew their creations on a stage, the models are having their hair and makeup done on the same stage. This makes it difficult for the designers to fit the garments since they have to interrupt hair and makeup each time they need a fitting. It was interesting to watch the creations come to life and try to figure out what in the heck the final garment will be. It also made me want to try this at home to see just what I could make in one hour's time. One designer seemed to spend most of the hour making an overly large sunbonnet with really long straps. We wondered whether the model would be naked. The other designer used the aforementioned orange and white print fabric to whip up a cute little bubble skirt that used both sides of the print. I later realized she'd brilliantly used double stick foam tape to create the bubble shape to cut down on sewing time. The top (from the black fabric) started out as a cute and modern tank with an asymmetrical hem that curved up in front and down at the back. Unfortunately, what could have been an adorable and wearable outfit, was done in when the designer couldn't stop designing. The back of the tank got a reverse appliqued patch of the orange and white fabric which reminded me of a scarecrow. Out of scraps of the remaining fabric, she tore strips and knotted and looped them around the models neck to create a neckpiece that unfortunately overwhelmed what had been a cute top. The skirt, which was the best part of the outfit, was slashed and shredded for no apparent reason. Finally, a strip of orange fabric was inexplicably knotted and wound around the model's wrist. At the last minute, it turned out that the first designer had actually sewn a very simple tube dress with a center gather at the bust and an uneven hem that had a reverse fabric detail inside to imply a lining. The dress was very ill-fitting but that was hardly her fault since it was nearly impossible to properly fit the sitting model while she was getting her hair and makeup done. I don't even think these girls had time to sew zippers or snaps. In the end, the sunbonnet's straps were pinned to the tube dress to keep it from falling off and then the straps wound around the dress several times to fit the dress to the body. It was an interesting concept that in the end, won the designer points with the audience and judges. The winner of this competition will go on to compete against the winners of two previous Fashion Feuds. I have no idea whether there's a prize or whether they just get bragging rights. I took many pics but I wasn't happy with the quality (grrrrrr to all the "press" photogs who rudely jumped into the way every time I tried to snap a shot) so I've posted a link to the SFFAMA website if you'd like to see pictures from the event.
http://sffama.com/post/3639077044/photos-by-alexander-jacob-scion-presents
The other night, my friend Kat and I went to a fashion event organized by a local industry networking group that's based in the Bay Area. Regardless of where you live, if your dream is to become a fashion or jewelry designer or even if you plan to have your own boutique, you need to network with people in your local community who can provide valuable assistance as you build your business. For some, that may be a local school or club that can help you build skills and knowledge to help you move forward. For others, there may be business networking groups tailored to your industry that can help you navigate everything from local business regulations to sourcing and finding skilled labor.
In San Francisco, we're lucky to have a variety of resources available. One of these is the San Francisco Fashion and Merchants Alliance aka SFFAMA. It's targeted toward startup Bay Area indie designers and fashion boutiques and helping them network, and build their businesses. I don't remember exactly how I found out about SFFAMA but it was while I was trolling the internet shortly before I graduated. SFFAMA has periodic networking meetings where a roundtable discussion of people from the local fashion industry discuss how they got their business off the ground. The speakers range from bloggers to designers to store owners. I've found the info extremely helpful because you can ask questions of people who know what you're going through.
In addition to meetings, there are indie bazaars, fashion shows and other activities and events that bring the local fashion community together. The other night, the event was something called Fashion Feud. It's like a speedy version of Project Runway, conducted in front of a live audience. Knowing how long it takes me just to draft a pattern, the thought of designing and making an outfit in an hour is enough to give me nightmares. My friend Kat and I are both recent fashion school graduates so we were intrigued to see what these designers could do.
To make their task even more difficult, the designers have no idea what the fabrics will be until the start of the competition. Apparently, for the evening we were there, someone had contacted Mood Fabrics (the same supplier of fabrics for Project Runway designers) and received fabric donations. All I can say is, Mood must get a lot of these requests and they must be getting REALLLLLLYYYYYYYY tired of them. The donations this night, consisted of an orange and white reversible gingham/ dot printed fabric and a solid black fabric. Yes folks, it's bad enough that you have to design and make your outfit in one hour, you also have to do it with Halloween colors.
While the designers cut and sew their creations on a stage, the models are having their hair and makeup done on the same stage. This makes it difficult for the designers to fit the garments since they have to interrupt hair and makeup each time they need a fitting. It was interesting to watch the creations come to life and try to figure out what in the heck the final garment will be. It also made me want to try this at home to see just what I could make in one hour's time. One designer seemed to spend most of the hour making an overly large sunbonnet with really long straps. We wondered whether the model would be naked. The other designer used the aforementioned orange and white print fabric to whip up a cute little bubble skirt that used both sides of the print. I later realized she'd brilliantly used double stick foam tape to create the bubble shape to cut down on sewing time. The top (from the black fabric) started out as a cute and modern tank with an asymmetrical hem that curved up in front and down at the back. Unfortunately, what could have been an adorable and wearable outfit, was done in when the designer couldn't stop designing. The back of the tank got a reverse appliqued patch of the orange and white fabric which reminded me of a scarecrow. Out of scraps of the remaining fabric, she tore strips and knotted and looped them around the models neck to create a neckpiece that unfortunately overwhelmed what had been a cute top. The skirt, which was the best part of the outfit, was slashed and shredded for no apparent reason. Finally, a strip of orange fabric was inexplicably knotted and wound around the model's wrist. At the last minute, it turned out that the first designer had actually sewn a very simple tube dress with a center gather at the bust and an uneven hem that had a reverse fabric detail inside to imply a lining. The dress was very ill-fitting but that was hardly her fault since it was nearly impossible to properly fit the sitting model while she was getting her hair and makeup done. I don't even think these girls had time to sew zippers or snaps. In the end, the sunbonnet's straps were pinned to the tube dress to keep it from falling off and then the straps wound around the dress several times to fit the dress to the body. It was an interesting concept that in the end, won the designer points with the audience and judges. The winner of this competition will go on to compete against the winners of two previous Fashion Feuds. I have no idea whether there's a prize or whether they just get bragging rights. I took many pics but I wasn't happy with the quality (grrrrrr to all the "press" photogs who rudely jumped into the way every time I tried to snap a shot) so I've posted a link to the SFFAMA website if you'd like to see pictures from the event.
http://sffama.com/post/3639077044/photos-by-alexander-jacob-scion-presents
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center | Academy of Art University...
Today, I just want to share a video of the graduate student collections from the Academy of Art University. The students show each season during fashion week in New York. I think most of these collections have something very unique to show. My favorites, of course, are the knitwear collections of my friends Stephanie Gelot (layers and layers of knit "prints" with big chunky scarfs) and Jonathan Baker (chunky knits with fur trims). Both Stephanie and Jonathan are incredibly talented. Stephanie is a master at getting amazing textures out of a simple flat bed or double bed knitting machine. Jonathon does amazing chunky hand knits but brings in unusual textures by knitting with strips of chiffon or fur or other non-traditional knitting materials.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Couture Beadwork
As I mentioned previously, along with creating my own designs, I also do custom embroidery and beadwork for other designers. One of my favorite classes in school was a couture embroidery class where I learned to do tambour embroidery. Tambour embroidery is done using a tiny crochet hook called a Luneville hook to create a chain stitch. The technique can be used with various types of thread or it can be used to attach beads to a background fabric. It's faster than embroidery with a needle and is used by couture artisans in various studios in Paris and India to create couture embroideries for the haute couture houses in Paris, Milan and New York. The most famous studio to practice this technique is L'Atelier Lesage in Paris which is owned by Chanel but does couture work for many other couture houses besides Chanel.
Last summer, I worked for designer Maria Korovilas creating amazing metallic encrusted pieces for her Spring/Summer 2011 collection that showed in New York in September 2010. Here are some pictures of the work in progress as well as the finished pieces.
Last summer, I worked for designer Maria Korovilas creating amazing metallic encrusted pieces for her Spring/Summer 2011 collection that showed in New York in September 2010. Here are some pictures of the work in progress as well as the finished pieces.
This was the first piece I worked on. It's the front hem of the dress below and this one piece took me two weeks to finish. The "beads" include everything from washers and various tiny plumbing and hardware pieces as well as metallic and metallized plastic beads and sequins. The easy part was getting all the big beads in place. The not so fun part was the hours upon hours we spent, filling in all the holes in between the large beads so that the whole piece was completely covered. The dress is made from Battenburg lace tablecloths that were cut apart and pieced into the dress below. Maria's whole collection consisted of Battenburg pieces layered over and under chiffon with beaded accents.
These are little cap sleeves and since they were very small, they only took about a week to finish.
This was the front hem of the dress below. The piece was very large and took about a month to finish. This one piece probably weighed about twenty pounds and there was a similar though smaller piece for the back hem on this dress.
The final garment was featured in Women's Wear Daily!
The video of the fashion show.
Monday, February 7, 2011
NEW YORK FASHION WEEK
Since NYFW begins this week, I thought I'd share this short video. My alma mater, The Academy of Art University in San Francisco, is one of the few, or only fashion schools in the U.S. to show during NYFW. I can't wait to see the work of this season's MFA students on Friday, February 11. This video is only a highlight of a few of the looks shown during the Spring/Summer 2011 shows which were held in September 2010.
For those of you not in the fashion biz, the shows are generally held several months before the actual season to allow buyers to get a look at various collections and decide which lines they want to carry in their stores. The designers then have a few short months to get the clothes produced and into stores.
Along with creating my own designs, I also do custom embroidery and beadwork for other designers. At around 1:40 in the video, you'll see a couple of looks that are encrusted with metal beadwork. These were designed by Maria Korovilas and I did some of the beadwork for her. Maria's collection was very haute couture and simply amazing. I loved working on it. It was a huge endeavor involving a team of people, three to do the vast majority of the embroidery and another team of people to construct it all. Most of the work was done by hand in the true haute couture sense. The long vest you can see in the video was originally about three feet longer and dragged on the floor. It took about two months to bead. Unfortunately, none of the models were strong enough to walk in it since it weighed over 100 pounds, so Maria was forced to chop off the bottom of the vest, causing a few beads to fall off on the runway. It was still beautiful though. Tomorrow, I'll post more pictures of the collection along with some of the pictures I took as I went along with the embroidery.
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