"This Is Something"

Last year one of my dearest friends Dave Doobinin flew from his home in New York to my house in California to stay with me while he was doing some work.  While he was there, he made a short film about Featherweight. Actually he said he was going to make a film, and I figured he wouldn't have the time so I didn't prepare, or clean, or even think about it until the morning he said "OK let's do this." Normally I would never have wanted to be on camera, but I trust and love Dave so I went for it.

I think Dave is wonderfully talented, but after nearly a year I have been too mortified to share the film publicly. It's really hard to look at myself and hear myself talk, and I've honestly been embarrassed that my studio didn't look like the spacious, spartan, gleaming white studio spaces you see on Instagram. But now that I don't have studio space anymore, I miss my old messy studio (and it was really dark because he told me to turn the lights off!)

I've been thinking a lot lately about how far I've come with my own creative confidence -- basically from zero confidence to a little bit of confidence -- and how much inner work I had to do to get this far.  It hasn't been easy but it has been so worthwhile, not in what I've made or sold but in how it has helped me increase my self-worth, how much more centered I sometimes feel inside myself. After a lifetime of self-doubt, finding even a little confidence has been an enormous relief.  If I could ever help anyone else feel a little better inside themselves then this might be worth sharing. 

After nearly a year, without further ado "This Is Something":

P.S. Dave is amazing, please hire him to photograph you or make a short film about something important to you.  And if you want to talk about creative confidence, talk to me because I have a lot of thoughts on the subject!

Upcycled & Re-Styled Vintage Victorian Lace Dress

Today is the start of Me Made May 2017, an annual event encouraging people who sew/knit/crochet/refashion/upcycle garments for themselves to wear and love them more.

In honor of the event, I'd like to tell you about a vintage Victorian lace dress that I upcycled & redesigned.

I absolutely love upcycling & remaking because:

• it requires problem solving (which I love)
• I can find superior materials & natural fibers (much harder to find new)
• it costs more time than money (perfect on an artist's budget)
• it's sustainable and eco-friendly
• I never have to worry about someone else wearing my same outfit

A few years ago while shopping at the Alameda Antique Fair, I found a wad of beautiful old lace at the bottom of a pile.  I can't remember how much I paid for it, but I'm positive it was less than $20 because that's how I roll.  After I got home, I realized it was a dress, stained and damaged but with beautiful eyelet and lace, and probably dating from the early 1900s.

Last year, while thinking about what to wear to the inaugural Ohana Festival, I decided I'd like a lightweight lace dress to stay cool in the heat, so I set about re-designing the vintage dress.  Here's what I started with:

For this project, my design challenges were:

• the waistline was miniscule
• the silhouette was outdated
• the lace was damaged and stained in a few places
• the lace and cotton is extremely delicate so it won't withstand any pressure or pulling

I believe the original front of the dress was the V-neck, but to be honest I'm not sure.  I wanted to showcase the lace in the front, so I chose to make the V-neck the back of the bodice. I also chose to keep the long sleeves, which worked for a summer dress due to the sheerness of the cotton and lace.

After I surveyed the damage and stains, I decided on a cropped, somewhat loose silhouette which would allow me to wear the dress without being in constant fear of ripping it.  Again, the material is so light and airy that it drapes well enough for a loose silhouette.

When I re-design a dress, I start with a basic idea of the silhouette I want, then tackle one area at a time, stopping to try the dress on after each basting or stitching. I do a lot of pinning on the dress form, then stepping back to observe and make design decisions. I don't make or use a pattern and I don't really measure too much, I just go slow and see what looks good and allow the garment to guide the design as I go.

The neckline needed reshaping, the shoulders needed repair and reinforcement, and I needed to repair the lace in a few other areas.  I was able to leave the sleeves as is, long and with closed cuffs, only because I have really small hands and wrists (our ancestors were tiny humans).  After I reversed the bodice, I noticed that part of the skirt had a continuation of the same lace so I oriented the skirt to match the lace at the top. I created an empire waist that is just wide enough for me to slip the dress over my head (and bustline).

(Forgive the color differences, I took these photos under very different lighting conditions.)

I'm really happy with the way the dress turned out, and it's managed to survive long active days at two different music festivals. I wore it this weekend to Stagecoach, styled with a black vintage slip, vintage jewelry and my Heritage boots.

With my gorgeous girlfriends Kime & SueBee in Yucca Valley, CA.

As I said, the dress has survived two long and active music festivals, but at the very end of the night, when we were almost home from the Stagecoach festival, I bent forward in the passenger seat of the car and heard a rip, which happened in the back of the skirt. One of the many things I've learned from Exene Cervenka is that ripped clothing has soul, so I'll repair it and wear it again.

Time Lapse Video: Sewing an Upcycled Leather Pouch

I've been working on my second design collaboration with Crown Nine, and decided to film a video of me sewing one of my upcycled leather pouches from start to finish.

This is a pattern I created myself. I made a lot of the design decisions based on the fact that I don't have any tools or machines that are made for leather work; these are all sewn on my Singer Featherweight sewing machine from 1947. I designed the pattern for durability, usefulness, uniqueness and of course I wanted to make the final product beautiful and stylish.  You can't necessarily tell from the video, but I pay special attention to tying good, hidden knots.

For those of you who don't know, the leather is considered upcycled because I sourced it from a pre-existing garment, but I manipulated the material to add value.  Basically I'm putting some hideous 90's leather garments out of their misery, while not contributing to the waste stream and environmental hazards of using new leather.  Check out all the UPCYCLED items in my web shop.

I wish I could work this quickly in real life!

Spending a month in Austin, TX

I'll be spending a month in Austin, TX, starting mid-June, and I'm super excited about it!

I'm a native Texan, went to college at UT, and still have a bunch of close friends who live in Austin.  I love that town and have already tried to leave California to move back there once (my job at the time moved me back).

That job is where I met the wonderfully talented Marc Johns.

I can't wait to fill up on breakfast tacos, humidity, Topo Chico, friends & fried avocado tacos.  It's always time for tacos.

I'll be housesitting for friends and part of the arrangement includes access to a full art studio. This is the cherry on the ice cream sundae. I'm treating the month as my own made-up artist-in-residence experience.  I'm housesitting for a UT Fine Arts faculty member so he's on board and already gave me some guidance. I'm going to experiment with new materials, have tons of uninterrupted studio time & plenty of room to make a mess.

I have lots of Texas reminders in my home.

Naturally I'll still be working & making money to pay the billz; I'm mailing supplies ahead of time & will take my Featherweight sewing machine on the flight as my carry-on. Good thing my Featherweight is so small, light & comes with a custom box.  I've consciously fashioned my work with Featherweight Studio to be flexible to do along with traveling, but this will be my biggest stretch away from my own studio. 

I'm looking forward to new inspiration, lots of new work & to connect with new collaborators & clients.  See you in Texas!