lovely lavenda

here is a shot of lavenda, who is a delightful combination of lovely and talented. She is a photographer/model in portland, who shot my senior collection. here she is wearing my pleated bustier and linen skirt lined with silk organza.  

Big time with JUKI

The day has arrived! I bought an industrial sewing machine! Motor, single needle lock stitch, KNEE LEVER (oh yeah!), I even have a teflon foot with which to sew knits smoothly and evenly.... my life is just somehow brighter for the last few days.... It's a Juki (made in Tokyo), and I got an insane, out of this world deal on it, too. About a third of the price as I should have paid, but the circumstances were in my favor, and i think the starts were aligned, too. The machine is kind of dirty, but i cleaned it up and now it lives the good life in my studio. I'm a very happy designer!

Works I bought on Etsy.

I finally had enough in my account to make my first etsy buys. i have been curating a group of lovely favorite items, from furniture to art to jewelry to clothes. these are on the top of my list, and i'm happy to say that they are on the way to me now. the top is a painting by italian artist Vincenzo Rizzo, and I encourage you to view more of his work here. The portraits are beautiful, frantic, and dark. Very moody and beautiful. The ring on the bottom is by a Turkish designer by the name of Star of the East, and the work is greatly inspired by elements of the sea, which i love and am forever am attracted to. 

I am planning to post soon about more of my Etsy favorites. there is some really incredibly original art and design to be found there, outside of the cutesy-crafty stuff. 

more more!

ok, ben pigao has done it again. i just received these latest images, and.... sigh. i'm lucky to be able to collaborate with these people!

top: silk/hemp blend tiered ruffle dress with reclaimed leather bodice and straps. 

bottom: pleated linen bustier, linen skirt. 

photos: ben Pigao

Model: Kacy owens

hair/MUA: Ambrosia carey

two more, why not?

These are from a shoot that i weaseled myself into. At the first shoot with ben, he mentioned that he was planning on working with Ambrosia Carey, a stylist that i've been a big fan of for a while. so i asked... 'need any wardrobe?' (I've been wanting to collaborate with her for some time!), and alas, they did! So, for the shoot  I made 2 new looks and brought the silk jersey dress (top) which i needed a full body shot of still. These are two edits that I've got back, I'll post an image of the third as soon as it comes back. The bottom photo is of a linen bustier with shaped pieces made of knife pleats, sewn together at opposing angles (sigh!) and a linen skirt (see blog below with close-ups). Kacey modeled, and she is the best. she's so FUNNY (and kind of a goofball) then she just HITS a pose and it becomes this amazing fashion shot. i believe the bottom look will be on my etsy site soon, the dress on top is no longer available... the fabric has tragically sold out at the store and i can't get any more. it's enough to make me cry! i am on the hunt for it somewhere else, or to at least to find something similar. 

the third dress is crazy.

Spring 09 Editorial

These are the rest of the edited photos taken by Ben Pigao. The results, i believe, are lovely! Thanks to everybody involved... it was a long, cold day! Anything from the collection can be ordered via etsy or by contacting me. 

MUA: Tiffani Patchett and Aimee Jadore. 

Models: Megan, Sutton, Kelsey, Courtney. 

new space, new work

Adam and i moved into our studio space... yessssssssssss. it's so nice! and big! and affordable! it's great to be able to wake up in the morning, have a cup of coffee, and then go to work. when i'm done and tired, i come home to a clean apartment... my kitchen isn't my studio space anymore! 

it's been a busy week. ive had a few etsy sales, and i did another shoot with ben pigao. i made 2 new looks for the shoot, one of them included about a 1,000 yards of intricately pleated linen that ended up being condensed into a teeny bustier. i love the effect, but, damn. what a process!

Fashion Show! Spring 2009

the alec martinez benefit show took place this past saturday at the benson hotel in portland. it was a long, beautiful evening. we raised over 15,000 for the family!!! there were some last second scares (zippers being ripped out on accident, skirts worn backwards) but the team backstage sent out the looks amazingly! thanks to everybody involved!

there has been no rest since, and will be none in the near future. i sold three more items on etsy, and have a photo shoot to prepare for, and i need to actually get some of my work in boutiques. Adam Andreas and i are planning on having a sample sale/champagne party at out studio later this month, which is going to be a powerful combination. the Spring collection can be viewed partly online (the rest coming soon!) or by appointment. as always, selling on etsy!

again, thanks to the portland fashion crowd for doing something amazing for an incredible family. 

                                                 love love love!!!

the LATEST

So, I did a shoot last week with the magical Ben Pigao, a photographer and graphic designer here in PDX. We had over 10,000 chilly square feet to work with at his studio. We shot the spring collection, which has a core of about 7 looks, which i added some fancy dresses to for the show this saturday. 

The models were Courtney Cornett, Megan Marie Hodge, Kelsey McCurdy, and Sutton S. Aimee Jadore and Tiffani Patchett did hair and make-up, and made the girls look gooooooood. Perfect. Anyway, we came away with some amazing fashion photography!

top:Megan. in the black widow top, 100% silk taffeta

middle: Kelsey    in the Treasure dress. 100% silk brushed taffeta with beading/stone/glass detail

bottom: Courtney in the Playa top, 100% silk twill, and Panama pant, 100% linen

Wrap me up in Lacoste, send me out in Daryl K

Yesterday, things seemed to soften up a bit at NY fashion week. The stand out for me was Daryl K, who gave a static presentation against a clay-colored monochromatic set of his super cool, super streamlined fall collection. His cuts were straight to the point, modern, and deliberate. On the other hand, Lacoste (from the day before) was just COZY. I would love to be wrapped up in any of those soft knit pieces, from head to toe. In a dream world, I'd start out my day in Lacoste, have morning coffee, read the paper in a sunlit kitchen in Brooklyn, check my email and blog. Then, i'd have to get serious, get working, and change into my new Daryl K. I could hit the streets, feeling confident, and get things done. (by the way, i'm writing this in my pajamas, and then i'll just change in to the same pair of jeans and tee shirt that i've been wearing for the last 6 months... boring...)