A Serious Moment

If you're visiting this page because of a Facebook or Twitter announcement, welcome!  I hope you take the time to read my other posts while you're here :)

From June 1st-30th I'll be donating 50% of the profits from my Etsy shop to the Lupus foundation of America's Walk for Lupus.  Here's why:

A few years ago, my brother was diagnosed with Lupus.  I had no idea what the disease was when we found out - thanks to Aldous Huxley I thought it was something that made your lips blue (read "Brave New World" and you'll understand).  A quick web search proved me wrong, but I learned that the actual symptoms of Lupus are pretty varied and they "flare", meaning that a person with Lupus can be perfectly fine one day and suddenly be very ill the next.  Extreme fatigue is the most common symptom but the nature of the disease can cause more dangerous problems. 

Lupus is an auto-immune disease, which means that your body's natural immune defenses can't tell the difference between healthy tissue and foreign invaders.  The antibodies the immune system creates can cause fatigue, inflammation, and damage to the body's system.  The medical community currently doesn't know what causes lupus, although it seems to be a hereditary disease (it's more common in some ethnic groups, and your chances of having lupus are greater if your family has a history of other auto-immune disorders.)

That's where The Lupus Foundation of America comes in.  According to the LFA's website, this non-profit is the "only national force devoted to solving the mystery of lupus, one of the world’s cruelest, most unpredictable, and devastating diseases, while giving caring support to those who suffer from its brutal impact. Through a comprehensive program of research, education, and advocacy, we lead the fight to improve the quality of life for all people affected by lupus."  My brother is participating in their Walk to End Lupus Now event in August to raise money for Lupus research - his goal is $300 and he's about halfway to his goal right now.  I'm hoping that through my Etsy shop I can help him meet his goal!

It's estimated that 1.5 million people in America, and 5 million people worldwide have a form of lupus, and like all serious diseases it also affects the families of those afflicted.  It's pretty scary to hear your little brother is in the hospital because his pericardium (the membrane around your heart) is inflamed - that's not normal for a 25 year old.  If you make a purchase in my Etsy shop 50% of my profits will go towards his fundraising efforts.  If you want to donate directly you can do so at his Walk to End Lupus Now donation page here.  If you want to learn more about lupus the LFA website is a great tool.

One way or the other, I hope you'll consider helping this cause.  Right now lupus is a mystery disease, but with more research we can solve this mystery and make a difference in millions of lives - and one that's very important to me.

I made the front page of Etsy!

If you're a regular Etsy shopper, then you've probably noticed the really pretty treasuries that get featured on the front page.  Well guess what - one of my items was up there sometime yesterday!  You don't get an email or anything when it happens, I was just checking my shop traffic and saw that I got close to 100 views and 41 "likes" already today, which is totally not normal for me.  (But it would be awesome if it were!)  With a little bit of research I was able to find the treasury on craftcult.com.  Here it is, my first front page feature!

Big Plans...

So let me just start by saying the big news that has consumed my life for the past couple of months: I was accepted to Indie Wed! 

"Huh?" you say.

Trust me, this is huge.  I applied pretty much on a whim, spent a month waiting for the application deadline to pass, and then another 3 weeks biting my nails waiting to hear back.  And I DID it!  This is a pretty sizable wedding event in Chicago that puts me in front of brides that want a handmade and unique wedding experience.  My hope is that if all goes well, I can do a few of these events per year (there's 2 seasonal events in Chicago and one in Milwaukee) and really build up my custom bridesmaid orders.

Does this mean I'm going to stop doing costume design?  No, at least not yet.  I'm sure there will be some point when I have to make that decision, but for now I love the work I do and don't want to stop.  It does possibly mean that my business model will shift from the one-of-a-kind handbags I started with to one that focuses just on the wedding industry.  Which I'm really okay with, but I'm going to let that evolve at its own pace for now.

A conversation with a colleague yesterday led me to a great quote from Daniel Burnham (who is totally awesome and if you don't know who he is go to Wikipedia RIGHT NOW!)

Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work.

This is going on my list of favorite sayings right up there with "Fortune favors the brave", and it's so appropriate right now.  I'm going to carry this with me going forward - no little plans.  Think big.  I can do it.

Tom Petty Was Right...

...The waiting really is the hardest part.  Right now I'm waiting for my business application to be approved by the state.  I don't see any reason why it wouldn't, but what I'm truly nervous about is what comes after it's approved.  

I've been running my Etsy business on the side for the past 2 years, and and my sales slowly climbed I started to realize that I could actually make this a viable source of income, not just a few extra bucks to spend on clothes (okay, more like fabric).  The biggest bump in business came last year when I started to offer custom bridesmaid clutches in my shop, and that aspect of my business is the one I've chosen to really focus on and get it to grow even more by looking into advertising and renting space at bridal expos.

It's the latter that forced prompted me to stop flying under the radar and register as a sole-proprietorship.  In order to apply as a vendor for most shows you have to be legally licensed in the state your business is based in.  So if I want to play with the big boys, I have to be a good citizen and stop flying under the radar.  Which is nerve-racking.  I'm not a conspiracy theorist, I'm not afraid of Big Brother, I don't have anything to hide... but honestly living in Crook Cook County, IL has made me wary of anything involving local government.  (We had a really bad experience with our property taxes the year after we bought our house that took a full year to resolve and the general attitude of the county was "tough luck".)  I just have this dread that even if I do everything the correct way with my business, the county will pop up with some asinine rule that wasn't listed anywhere and I will owe thousands of dollars I can't afford to pay.  

Oh, the joys of living in Chicago...

But if I want my business to grow I have to suck it up, push those butterflies out of my stomach, and start treating this LIKE AN ACTUAL BUSINESS.  And that means in just a few days, in the eyes of the state of Illinois, I will officially be a small business owner.

Lord help me.

The Jungle Book: Production Photos

For a few weeks this past January I was close to pulling my hair out as I juggled two productions back to back at NSCDS.  Normally I have about a month between each show in the Upper and Middle schools, which is the average amount of time to complete a production from the initial design to tech.  This time I had a WEEK between shows, which meant I was working on them simultaneously - 60 costumes (give or take), and two wildly different styles.

First up was an adaptation of "Snow White", but I don't have photos from that yet.  We tried to go with a cute and simple Grimm fairy tale style so it wouldn't look too similar to "Into the Woods", which I'm currently working on and opens next month.

The second show was another adaptation of a classic story, "The Jungle Book".  Instead of making the costumes literal representations of the different animals, the set designer and I collaborated on using large over-sized masks that would sit on the actors' heads and still allow them to use their facial expressions, coupled with traditional Indian clothing that captured the spirit of each animal.  We were both inspired by the Broadway version of "The Lion King" (and I've always loved Julie Taymor's style, excluding "Spiderman", of course).

So with the costumes I came up with a distinctive style for each type of animal, using clues from the script and masks, which were painted in a highly stylized manner.  The wolf pack were simple and earthy, made with rough textured fabrics in browns and golds.  The tiger (Shere Khan), jackal, panther, and bear (Baloo) also used simple fabrics, but with more decoration and pattern than the wolves.  The monkeys were bright and flashy, in purple, orange, and green with lots of traditional beading and sparkle.  The kites (a type of falcon) were held by actors in blue and gold to represent the sky.  And my favorite, the snake Kaa, was dressed in elaborate red and green encrusted with beading and embroidery to give the impression of shimmery scales.

I don't have too many photos right now, just what I was able to take with my phone during the last rehearsal.  I hope to get better quality photos soon!

Sewing for ME!!!

One of my goals this year is to make more everyday wardrobe items for myself.  Even though I have the luxury of 2 full weekdays to sew, they're usually filled with projects for either my theatre clients or Etsy shop.  The result is that I haven't sewn something for myself since I made a reception dress for my wedding almost 4 years ago.

Last month I found a really great blog article through Pinterest that showed how to use 14 basic wardrobe pieces to make 30 different outfits, and I'm incorporating this idea into my sewing goal to make my own wardrobe challenge!  One of my rules is that I have to make or thrift everything, no ready-made items unless I already own them.  (I'm also trying to go on a fabric buying fast, but that really hasn't happened yet...)

So my first item in this great quest is this cute little blouse based on the Sorbetto from Collette patterns!  The fabric is a very thick poly/rayon with a matte finish.  Almost feels like it could be a peachskin fabric, but not quite.  It's light but substantial enough that I don't feel like I'm naked.  The original pattern is sleeveless, but I found a sleeve pattern online and it works perfectly.  I wasn't sure what the boxy shape would look like on my body type, but I made a muslin version first and did some alterations on that to get the shape just right before cutting my fashion fabric.

I'm not sure yet how this will work into my 14 piece wardrobe, but I know it will get used regularly.  I'm already thinking of more variations on this pattern to make again soon!

The Cost of Handmade

$620 for THIS?  I bet I can get it for $20 at Target...

I recently read an article in the "New Yorker" about an artisans fair in New York where craftsmen from luxury brands like Hermes (you know, the one that makes $1500 handbags) demonstrated their art for the public.  The author describes how while watching the complicated process of individually screen-printing each Hermes scarf by hand, an avid collector of the brand remarks, "I used to think these scarves were expensive".

There are a lot of guides out there to help artists price their handmade goods, but nothing I've read really hit home like this did.  I do have a hard time pricing my items, for a couple of different reasons.  One, I'm making the mistake of comparing my pieces to those you'd find in a store.  Two, I'm pricing them based on what I myself would pay - the problem here is I'm CHEAP.  Seriously, Ebenezer Scrooge would be proud of my penny pinching skills.  Which is a good skill to have when running a household or small business, but it's bad to base my profit margins on it.

The rich lady paying $400+ for her handmade silk scarf is someone my cheap side laughs at, but my artistic side needs to embrace.  Each handbag I make is 100% constructed by me from start to finish, from the actual pattern pieces I use to cut the fabric, to the little metal clasps that I squeeze on with a pair of pliers.  Even with the steps I've made to streamline my process, each item can take anywhere from 1.5 - 5 hours to complete.  Not to mention the time it takes to develop each pattern, since I don't use commercial designs.

So wake up call to me:  Your stuff is worth it.  That $620 Hermes scarf is made out of just one piece of fabric, and the design is mass-produced meaning there are hundreds of them out there adorning the necks of ladies with too much money.  Your items are complex little pieces of fabric origami, and each is one of a kind!  I probably can't get people to pay $600 for one of my bags (yet), but there's no reason I should charge bargain-basement prices for a unique handmade item.  In the words of the great and wise Stuart Smalley: "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me."  My work is worth it!  Now I'm off to re-price my Etsy shop!

Handmade with love, from me for you!