Smashing Darling Blog

This week we talked to Deb and Wendy of DIYthing. They have got there hand on the pulse of the DIY fashion movement! They have a very successful blog, are regulars over at Stylehive contributing to the Hive Blog and now they are launching the quarterly DIYthing e-zine, DIY City. There will be lots of resources, inspirations from indie designers and styling tips and faves from the editors. The picture is a sneak peek at one of the pages that will go with an interview they did with Smashing Darling. We are so excited for their launch we will keep you posted. Look for it around Cupid’s favorite day!

SD: When Did you and your sister start your blog?
Deb: We actually started DIYthing April 1st last year. We started DIYthing as a way to share about the great indie designers we were meeting. Since Wendy lives in Louisiana and I live in NYC, she didn’t get to meet all of the folks that I did this past year. Blogging was a good way to share back and forth stories about the indie scene in different locations. That’s when we thought about starting DIY City mag. It will launch in February, but we’ve been working on the concept for the past six months.

SD: How did you decide what the blog would be about?
Deb: The more we blogged at DIYthing, the more we realized how local arts and crafts are to a community. The Web is incredible for creatives to sell their work, but some sites really don’t give much of a sense of the local flavor and the backstory. We thought it would be neat to start a site that highlighted indies from cities around the world while at the same time sharing resources for source materials and services.

SD: What drew the two of you to the DIY scene?
Wendy: For me it was the thought of independence and crafts. We grew up in a household where my mom was heavy into crafts and she even taught art classes, so I guess you can say we have always been in the DIY scene.

Deb: Yes, and I think I was drawn back to it recently as I find it a great balance from my stressful day job. During high school I wanted to study textile design, but for various reasons I didn’t pursue that dream. Now, I am heavy into eco-friendly design.

SD: I know you work from different states, do you find the distance a challenge?
Wendy: No not really - gmail chat seems to work great. However, I wish that we could of course go take photos and on interviews together. Deb and I were together over the holidays and we did a photo shoot for DIY City mag and we had a great time - we stayed up half the night being crafty - that was a lot of fun.

SD: What does your average day entail?

Wendy: An average day - lol…wake up and jump on the computer to check e-mails and if i have time i will either hive (Stylehive) a few things or check out the front page of Etsy and then start down my blog roll to see what might be happening in the world of DIY. Then it’s off to the real world of work and getting my two boys off to school. The evenings consist of ball games and homework - once all is settled, it’s non stop till around midnightish. I do most of the layouts for the mag while Deb is busy interviewing and taking photos and such. Oh and a lot of our time is spent searching for designers and e-mailing or calling them to find out their story.

SD: Describe your personal style?
Wendy: That made me think - my personal style would be eco-remix/vintage. I shop at thrift stores for most of my clothes and love it when i come across a great vintage piece that i can mix with my low waisted jeans and a stylish pair of boots. i just reconstructed a pair of jeans for DIY City mag…i didn’t like the bottoms so i altered them.

Deb: My style is real similar, but I love texture. When I shop I look for clothes I look and fabric that says “touch me”. And I love reconstructing my own clothes from vintage finds. I see it as a real design challenge.

SD: Who are your fashion icons (past or present)? Do you think they influenced your personal style?
Deb: Icon is a strong word - there are some. Wendy and I both love Katharine Hepburn’s classic look and Cate Blanchett. They have certainly influenced us at times. We also love to follow indie designers who are creating new styles of their own - such as Lori Marsha, Desira Pesta, and Avalove - she just opened a shop in Noho. Oh and Danish designer Sarah Heartbo ( www.heartbo.com) - I love her designs.

SD: Do you have any current fashion obsession?

Deb: Cuffs, I love Bayousalvage’s Mojo cuffs made from salvaged fabric. Kerry, the designer, even uses found objects such as vintage skeleton keys to add to the deeply textured look. I had a chance to meet her on one of my recent trips to Louisiana. ( bayousalvage.etsy.com). Fusing Colors’ fused glass bracelets are also gorgeous (fusingcolors.com)- I own several.

SD: What advice would you give someone just starting in your field?

Deb & Wendy: Do-it-yourself - DIY - seriously - most of what we have learned or accomplished has been through jumping in and giving it a try. Sure we’ve made mistakes, but as they say that’s the best way to learn.

SD: Do you have any big plans for the future of DIYthing?

Deb & Wendy: We will continue to blog as DIYthing, but our big plans are for DIY City. We are launching our DIY City mag in early February. DIY City is an online quarterly mag that will highlight indie designers and creatives from cities around the world. It will also provide info on resources for buying products and services for artists and crafters. We see DIY as an evolving concept - whether it is someone making things for themselves or someone starting their own business from scratch - DIY is an attitude that says “I can do this, let me figure out how.” Our first issue of DIY City mag will focus on NYC, then we are heading to the Big Easy - New Orleans. There are so many artists there who are continuing to rebuild their lives.

SD: Do you have a question or a comment for anyone one Smashing Darling?

Deb & Wendy: Karelle at KRELwear - we love your independent, no rules ethic, “Living garments, embracing flaws - let it run.” We think that the best designers live that way. And to all of Smashing’s Darlings - keep up the great work - indie designers are the best.