Today’s interview comes with a giveaway! Author and independent designer, Jennifer Lynne Matthews, has offered us a copy of the newest edition of her book Fashion Unraveled to giveaway to you. In this book Jennifer shares lessons she has learned from good decisions and bad as she built her fashion brand. The chapters and worksheets in the book are short and sweet so you can attack them in small doses. We know working on the business side is the last thing designers want to do, and that makes us so thankful the independent fashion world has darlings like her to help us all out. Comment and tell us your biggest business mistake to this point, and be entered to win your own copy of her book. Sharing stories of making mistakes helps all of us collectively learn.

Since I made every mistake known to man, I thought it would be a great idea to write about how to do it (by way of how not to do it). I always loved writing, so blending my two passions was inevitable.

1. Know who you are catering your business to – in other words, know your customer.
2. Figure out the whole marketing situation for your line – how are you going to get the word out about you.
3. Know and watch your competition – they can be amazing research for 1 & 2.
4. Know what it costs to run your business – not just the materials, but the operating expenses.
5. Figure out a pricing model that works to bring you a profit and a salary.

Darlings: This is a second edition, what changes did you feel were necessary from the first edition?
Jennifer: The first edition covered a lot of information, but I listened to the feedback from my readers and made appropriate changes in the second. I added new case studies, lots of new forms and an entire detailed section on business entities, taxes and the like. Some might find it a little overwhelming, but the second edition covers everything I wanted to write in the first edition, but was afraid to write.

The first edition was written right before the market crash and was released just after. Many things in the industry have changed in just the few short years since things went bump in the night. I adapted these industry changes into the second book.

Darlings: Do you think there are common mistakes designers make when they are starting out?
Jennifer: Absolutely. As creatives, we just want to think about the craft. It is what makes us happy. We figure the business stuff will happen because we have a great product. The truth is, we are creatives and haven’t thought the business side all the way through. I find that the majority of designers starting a business neglect the money part, because design is the fun stuff.

Darlings: You are also working on an online school for fashion and jewelry, can you share a little about this as well? It sounds like a great resource.
Jennifer: I’m always looking to create the next best thing for entrepreneurs. Once the program is officially launched, we will begin building an online school for entrepreneurs, fashion designers, jewelry designers and crafters. The courses will be an affordable option to individuals wanting to learn the trade, but not concerned with receiving a degree. We plan to offer classes on various skills including sewing, pattern drafting and my specialty, draping and lingerie design.

We plan to start developing the classes in April and May as soon as time permits. I’m a busy lady. I’m also writing a series of lingerie design books presently.

Darling dreamwarp… What would you do if you had the opportunity to work with a team to include a visual artist, a documentary filmmaker, as well as an art activist/educator for at-risk kids? You’d be out of your mind excited about the endless inspirations and opportunities, right? Well, darlings, be inspired, because that is exactly what is happening in the emerging fashion community in San Diego. Many thanks to Felena Hansen of FOCUS, and Patricia Frischer of SDVAN, for taking the time to tell us about their project, and for the inspiring work they do. Don’t miss this video below, and read on for all the details.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Get to know the people behind Art Meets Fashion

Darlings: Tell us about Art Meets Fashion…
Felena & Patricia: Creativity is abounding in San Diego. Eleven teams, each including a local fashion designer, an artist, documenter and an educator are coming together to participate in Art Meets Fashion (AMF), a collaboration between the San Diego Visual Arts Network (SDVAN) and FOCUS (Fashion Opportunities Connect US). Teams have selected themes to showcase their collaborative creativity in products that will be featured in team exhibitions in April and May 2011, a VIP fashion show on Thursday, April 28, 2011, and a group exhibition at the San Diego International Airport, which will remain on display through June and a Public Opening at the NTC Promenade at Liberty Station on May 6.

Felena Hansen (FOCUS) and Patricia Frischer (SDVAN)

Darlings: How did the collaboration between Focus and Art Meets Fashion begin?
Felena & Patricia: Patricia Frischer (SDVAN) and Felena Hansen (FOCUS) met at the Se Hotel during a planning session for the fashion show for Little & Large, a promotion involving 41 galleries and 120 sculpture and jewelers in support of the Calder Jewelry exhibition at the San Diego Museum of Art. SDVAN has organized this promotion and because of it’s enormous success, and over Veev vodka martinis with FOCUS, decided to continue the cross-pollination with the fashion industry. Hundreds of emails later from all over the world, the plan to form teams was evolved. Asking fashion designers to work with artists was a simple premise, but adding an educator to create lesson plans for at risk teens was suggested by Irene de Watteville, an art activist, educator, and committee member. An exhibition of Show Studio in London, inspired the last team member i.e. the documenter, who is a vital component and is considered an artist whose creations are included in the exhibition. The team, at its best, will be fully collaborative and will mentor each other to create work never before seen, raising the bar for all the participants.

Darlings: How do you think it is going so far?
Felena & Patricia: Amazing! We’ve seen so many wonderful, new ideas come out of these collaborations! The project has grown to include over 35 fringe events, an online competition with the winner in a gallery show, public and VIP fashion shows, and extra exhibitions for the Mannequin project as a special art show just for the artists in the group.

Darlings: Looking into the future, do you see being involved in more projects like this?
Felena & Patricia: We see very clearly the need to continue to create opportunities for people to be inspired. We know that people’s happiness is very much intertwined with how much they collaborate and are encouraged to be creative. We would like to spread the success of these type of projects into the science, bio-tech and high tech sectors of our community. We see this as a win-win for both.

Educator Robin Przybysz and her students from Santa Fe Christian Schools working on full sized paper dolls dresses.

Darlings: Until FOCUS, has there ever been a supportive group helping the San Diego fashion industry?
Felena & Patricia: Yes, Fashion Group International (FGI.org) is also a great organization. However, in the past, they haven’t had programs that reached out to a younger, emerging fashion market, so that’s why FOCUS was born.

Darlings: Do you find there are a lot of young independent designers looking for somewhere to turn for help as they begin their business or try to grow their businesses?
Felena & Patricia: Yes, but they are sometimes shy to reach out. That’s why the FOCUS networking events and education programs have been helpful – see an example at: http://focussd.org/conference. We will be doing more educational programs like this in the future. We would love to engage a group like Fashion Business Inc in San Diego or at least collaborate with them to bring more programming to our market.

Seed dress in Flight, by April Cromer and photo by Jeffrey R. Brosbe, both of team AMF: Elevation.

Darlings: What is one piece of advice you give to fashion designers starting their own companies?
Felena & Patricia: Collaborate with others in the industry – you’ll need the inspiration and know-how from others that have been there before. San Diego is a very close-knit community and there are a lot of opportunities to work together.

San Diego Visual Arts Network (SDVAN)
The San Diego Visual Arts Network (non-profit Public Charity 501 (c) 3 EIN #205910283) has a mission to improve the clarity, accuracy and sophistication of disclosure about San Diego’s artistic and cultural life. We are dedicated to reinforcing the idea that the visual arts are a necessary and vital part of the health of our city. By providing a website with a directory and events calendar and facilitating numerous collaborations on visual arts projects, we hope to not only build the confidence of those involved in the arts, but disseminate information throughout San Diego thus raising the bar on the writing, production and appreciation of the visual arts in our region. SDVAN list 1700 visual arts resources, has 4,000-5,000 unique visitors to our website per month and get over one million hits a year. SDVAN has approx 3,500 on their opt-in mailing list. SDVAN exhibition resume includes: Little & Large, Movers and Shakers, SD Art Prize, New Contemporaries. www.SDVisualArts.net

FOCUS (Fashion Opportunities Connect US)
FOCUS is a fashion industry networking organization for emerging professionals with goals to: Create a community for those in fashion related industries to network, learn, and grow; Generate exposure opportunities for the emerging fashion market – designers, stylists, manufacturers, e-tailers, boutique owners, and other entrepreneurs; Inspire the San Diego consumer to explore the independent fashion scene; Educate – connect with experienced professionals who can share their knowledge with the next generation. www.focusSD.org

Understanding where we come from sometimes gives us insight into where we may be going. Many thanks to Adam Steinberg, Education Coordinator at the Tenement Museum for taking the time to answer some of our questions. Read on for a glimpse of what the fashion industry looked like when it first began in NYC. So interesting to find out that some of the factories were so small, production actually took place right inside a tenement apartment. Many indie fashion designers are producing right in their apartments or small workrooms made up of a few machines. If history has taught us anything … small workrooms can grow and become a huge industry. We always knew this was just the beginning for the independent fashion industry, and look forward to watching this very nimble industry grow. Go spend an afternoon back in time in the Lower East Side, especially the Piecing it Together tour. Enjoy the interview and the glimpse into a bit of fashion past.

In 1900, 70% of all women’s clothing in America was fabricated right here on the Lower East Side…

Image circa 1910-1930, All images courtesy of the Tenement Museum

Darlings: Did the garment industry already exist at the time the tenements were built? When did the garment industry start to form in NYC?
Adam: The garment industry and the tenement were born at about the same time – the 1840s and 1850s. Indeed, the two went hand-in-hand: Immigrants not just lived in tenements, they also made clothes there.

The parlor or front room of the recreated Levine Family Apartment Exhibit at the Tenement Museum, 97 Orchard Street. The apartment is recreated to the year 1897 and contained a garment factory. In this area of the factory, the finisher would have added the lace, trimmings and other finishing touches to the dresses that were made there.

Darlings: What was the ratio of men to women working in the garment industry in the late 1800s to early 1900s? How did their jobs differ?
Adam: In the 19th century, men had the higher paying jobs. Pressers especially were men – probably because the hand-held irons weighed up to 20 pounds when filled with hot coal.

Darlings: Can you describe what the industry was like during this time?
Adam: In the 19th century, the industry was highly, intensely communal. Factory owners and workers were typically from the same immigrant group – often from the same town in the old country. A factory might include just three workers working in the factory owner’s living room while the factory owner’s wife worked in the kitchen and small children played underfoot. The industry was also highly competitive, with one-third of factories going out of business every year. On the one hand, your factory could be like a second home. On the other hand, the owner, desperate to turn a profit, could sometimes seem more like a slave-driver than a father.

Darlings: Were these garments sold primarily in NYC or were they distributed throughout the US?
Adam: These garments were sold throughout the United States, especially in the new department stores sweeping the nation.

Darlings: Were most of the garment industry workers living in the tenements?
Adam: Yes. They usually couldn’t afford to live anywhere else.

Darlings: What was the workers lives like outside of work? What were there wages at that time? Did workers own or rent at the tenements?
Adam:Workers almost always rented their apartments, though the landlord was typically an immigrant as well. Wages were low: In the 1890s, the highest paid worker might make $15/week, while the lowest paid worker might make as little as $8/week. As a result, workers worked very long hours to make enough money for food and shelter. But workers made the most of their free time by relaxing in cafes and restaurants after work, attending political rallies, learning English and other skills in local settlement houses, and just walking the neighborhood. After spending up to 18 hours making clothes in a tenement apartment, the last thing many wanted to do was go home to yet another tenement apartment.

Darlings: How much of the clothing for the US was produced in NYC back then? Do you know how much is produced in NYC today?
Adam: In the 1890s, 40% of men’s clothing being manufactured in the United States, and 70% of women’s clothing, was being manufactured in New York City, mostly in the tenements of the Lower East Side. Today the industry has largely moved to other neighborhoods. It’s also much smaller. Today, the American garment industry, which is now mostly centered in New York and Los Angeles, produces about 5% of the clothing sold in America, though because these clothes are often sold in upscale boutiques, they produce about 24% of the industry’s sales.

Darlings: In your opinion, what is the biggest fundamental difference between the garment industry then and now?

Adam: The industry today has largely moved abroad. And what’s left of the industry in America today is so small, it doesn’t dominate immigrant communities nearly as much as it once did.

Darlings: The garment industry seems to be in a transition today, do you think the garment industry today can still learn from the garment industry in the past?

Adam: Perhaps a better question might be, “Can consumers today learn from the garment industry in the past?” Now more than ever, consumers – their fickle tastes, their desire for name-brand clothes at affordable prices – drives the industry. If we are to preserve the garment industry in New York, or improve work conditions for garment workers in other countries, consumers must become more thoughtful shoppers.

Darlings: Do you think NYC would be different without the garment industry?  Do you think if it disappeared from the city all together it would have an economic impact?

Adam: For many New Yorkers, the loss of what’s left of the garment industry wouldn’t mean much, but for immigrant communities desperate for jobs, and for the business people who depend on the industry, it would mean a great deal. The death of the industry would entail grief for some, but may pass unnoticed by most. Not that its death wouldn’t affect everyone. The garment industry is part of what makes New York unique. Without it, we become a little more like everyone else.

Trishdarling and I love when it works out that we get to have a spare hour or two in NYC together and we can sneak off to a museum, usually the FIT Museum, for some inspiration. An exhibit last Fall at the Pratt Manhattan Gallery also offered inspiration: Ethics + Aesthetics = Sustainable Fashion. This beautiful exhibit was curated by Francesca Granata, Editor of Fashion Projects, and Sarah Scaturro, Textile Conservator at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Sarah agreed to have a darling interview chat with us and we are happy to share that with you here this week, like our own private museum tour. We hope you enjoy it, and are inspired.

Sarah at the Camouflage Takes Center Stage conference, Royal Military Museum, Brussels

Darlings: Tell us a little about your background and how you became inspired to study fashion and textiles?
Sarah: Being from Colorado (a supremely unfashionable state), I was never that aware of fashion growing up.  Of course I read magazines like Sassy and Seventeen, and my first job at age 14 was working for The Limited, but it never seemed like a field I wanted to enter. I moved to New York in the spring of 2001 after living for two years in Italy and Japan.  It was in Japan that I truly began to understand the power of fashion, both personally and socially.  I was inspired by their subcultures (the Loli-Goths and Ganguro girls), their amazing shopping malls, and the fact that almost every woman there carried a Louis Vuitton handbag.  I was a fashion outsider, as at 5’10” and a size 8, I was too big to fit into their clothes. This alienation allowed me to begin making my own anthropological observations about the role of fashion in Japanese society.

After moving to NYC I began taking Continuing Ed classes at FIT on tailoring and pattern-making, which led me to their MA program in Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory and Museum Practice.  When I read how the program focused holistically on the theoretical, sociocultural, historical and practical aspects of fashion and textile studies, along with the list of prerequisites (art history, chemistry, foreign languages – all of which I had taken and loved in undergrad), I realized that this was the perfect program for me.  It was an ideal mix of fashionable nerdiness which would allow me to pursue a career in museums, academia and corporate archiving.  Right after graduating I began my own consulting company, and immediately landed two clients – Jill Stuart (to organize her vintage inspiration archive) and the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum (to rehouse ancient textiles).  Within six months I fortunately was able to convert to a full-time position at the Cooper-Hewitt, so now I work as the textile conservator responsible for preserving the 30,000+ textile collection and handling the exhibition display of all fashion and textiles, like for our recent Rodarte exhibition.

Darlings: We loved the Ethics + Aesthetics: Sustainable Fashion exhibit you co-curated earlier this year. Can you tell us a bit more about the mission and process of that? What was the main message you wanted people to walk away with?
Sarah: Francesca Granata (Fashion Projects) and I began working on this exhibition in 2006, when eco-fashion was still emerging as a major area of investigation and had yet to really reach the mainstream media.  We wanted to bring attention to all of the cool work that had been happening in the US, and in NYC in particular.  We were frustrated that the issues seemed to be getting some serious attention in Europe, and the UK especially, but that it was almost ignored here in the US.

After sending the proposal to a few venues and being turned down, we decided to focus our efforts on a place that would really nurture and support our thesis.  Pratt Manhattan Gallery (which is part of Pratt Institute) turned out to be the perfect location for our exhibition.  They have a really strong exhibition team, a beautiful architectural space, a solid investment in Pratt Institute’s sustainability initiatives, and furthermore, we had the opportunity to work closely with Pratt’s student body. Our exhibition was designed by a talented team of students in the Exhibition Design Intensive course – they really took our sustainability message to heart and produced one of the most beautiful, ecological, and modular exhibition designs that I’ve ever seen.

We decided to focus the exhibition on three areas, which we called Reduce, Revalue and Rethink (as a play on the environmental mantra of: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle).  The Reduce section centered on innovative materials, pattern-making and modularity (and included Loomstate, SANS and Bodkin), while the Revalue theme emphasized memories, handcrafting and community (SUNO, Alabama Chanin and Susan Cianciolo). Our Rethink section was the most radical, as it sought to directly challenge the fashion system by seeking alternate consumer paradigms and production models by including Andrea Zittel’s Smockshop and designer Mary Ping’s Slow and Steady Wins the Race line. The overarching goal of the exhibition was to expand the notion of “sustainability” beyond simplistic notions such as “organic vs. non-organic” to include ways in which we approach our relationship to clothing and the fashion system.

Darlings: Tell us about what/where you teach? What is the toughest part of teaching?
Sarah: I adore teaching and mentoring. I came to the field of fashion and textile studies after having already had another career in the non-profit sector, so I’m very passionate about finally having found something that I really love. I teach quite a bit, both as an adjunct at FIT in the Fashion and Textile Studies MA program, where I show students how to manage fashion and textile collections, and in NYU’s IFA program, in which I teach textile structure to art conservation students.  I also do a lot of guest lecturing on the relationship between fashion, technology and sustainability, especially for NYU’s ITP program.

Even in the short span that I’ve been teaching, I’ve noticed the students getting a lot savvier about technology, internships, and fashion studies in general.  The field is growing by leaps and bounds, especially here in NYC with the recent addition of Parson’s MA program in Fashion and Textile Studies. The toughest part of my job is having to give my students a dose of reality in the fact that even though there are a lot more graduates and interest in the field – this hasn’t yet translated to more jobs. There are very few full-time, permanent jobs out there, and the ones that exist are poorly paid and highly competitive. What I’m trying to inspire in my students is the desire to strike out on their own – to do something innovative and outside the norm. They should view the challenges more as opportunities to really push the field forward.

Darlings: What impact is the internet having on sustainable fashion and textiles?
Sarah: A fantastic impact! There are so many different approaches towards sustainable fashion and nearly all of it is dependent on the immediacy of the internet. I particularly love the style blogs that show how living sustainably can easily be achieved. Some of my favorites are still “the originals” like Jill Danyelle’s FiftyRX3 and The Little Brown Dress. These days I like to follow Johanna Bjork, from Goodlifer and Concrete Flower, as she shows how sustainability is really a mindset, and a fun one at that! I have friends who are independent designers, like Titania Inglis and Tara St. James of Study NY who really use the web as a place to show their work, grow their networks and muse about their inspirations and experiences. I know they are particularly excited about emerging websites like Source4Style, which allows designers to source sustainable fabrics much easier and more quickly than before. Then of course there are the sites that are constantly revealing new “eco” products, like Ecouterre.com. My personal favorite, which is more like a meditation on the beauty of our world, is Ecco*Eco run by the artist and curator Abigail Doan. I could go on and on, but I might as well direct you to my chapter called “Digital and Democratic” about the role of the internet in sustainable fashion in the soon-to-be published second edition of The Fashion Reader by Berg Publishers.

Darlings: Can you see the day when the fashion industry is lean, mean and green…or is that still way too far off in the future? Can you help us visualize by describing what that might look like?
Sarah: Yes – and no! I don’t think that sustainability is a passing trend. In the future, all design, if it is going to be considered “good” design must take into account social and environmental responsibility. I don’t necessarily see the fashion industry as getting leaner – smarter, maybe. Fashion is really a business based on capitalist values – once fashion companies realize that sustainable fashion (true sustainability, not just greenwashing) makes good economical sense, then I don’t think it will take them long to get into line.

What I’m really concerned with is the consumer. How do we inform and educate the consumer as to which is the best way to “become” sustainable? The beauty about fashion today, especially with the help of the internet, is that it is incredibly diverse and wonderfully messy. There are so many small fashion tribes out there that are creating their own unique styles. Fashion’s democratization means that anyone can participate and change it for their own purposes. I’ve tried to address the lack of consumer education through the Hacking Sustainable Fashion workshops that I co-lead with Giana Gonzalez of Hacking Couture. In the workshops, we try to lead the participants in creating their own “fashion manifesto” by giving them the code for sustainable fashion (based on my research) and then encouraging them to hack into it, changing and adding to it so that it fits their lifestyles best.  The wonderful thing about sustainability is that there are so many ways to go about it!

Darlings: Do you think independent, smaller, fashion houses or brands fit into a sustainable future for fashion?
Sarah: The pace of the fashion cycle is getting so fast, and there are so many options out there, that it is actually leading to consumer fatigue and paralysis. In fact, Alvin Toffler predicted this in his 1970 book Future Shock. The 1960s were a time of great advances in fashion, especially with the rise of youth culture, street fashion, and manufacturing and material innovations (all of which were the forerunners of today’s disposable fast fashion system). This was followed by the reactionary “return to nature” aesthetic and approach of the 1970s.  I think we are going through a similar cycle in that consumers are beginning to get fatigued by the crappy, cheap clothing and fast turnover produced by large fashion chains. They are seeking a sense of authenticity and nostalgia which is being expressed in the revamping of a lot of heritage brands like Pendleton and the popularity of vintage clothing.  I see independent designers combating this consumer fatigue by virtue of their singular vision and exclusiveness. I think the challenge for these independent designers is in figuring out how to be economically viable. Some of these designers are using their status as “eco” designers to help fuel sales and publicity, but I’m not sure how well this will work in the future once sustainability becomes the status quo. That being said – I don’t think the demand for independent design will disappear.  People will always want something special, handcrafted and uniquely theirs. Fashion’s inherently splintered nature ensures that there will always be a space for an independent and local vision.

Getting to know the Independent Fashion Industry...
and the people in it.

The two of us Darlings discover and virtually meet some amazing people online via this orbit otherwise known as the internet. But truly, I think I can type for the both of us that we would rather be on the road discovering in person. Wandering around a community, popping into stores, picking up local publications to read over coffee to see what’s happening, getting lost and finding favorite new spots. Those are the best days, and that was just the sort of day I had in London this past May and how this interview with Rosie Martin, Founder of DIYCouture came to be. So anyway…read on and get to know her a bit better. Cheers, Darlings!

Sewing is a visual activity, and needs to be explained visually. With this in mind, DIYcouture takes a different approach from that of conventional sewing patterns, using diagrams and photographs to explain the making process.

Darlings: When and how did you get the idea of empowering people to make their own clothes?
Rosie: I didn’t study clothes-making or fashion but fumbled my way through stitching some basic items as a teenager. By the time I left home I was wearing quite a few clothes that I made myself, though I hate to think what they looked like. Around that time there was quite a bit of publicity about British high street shops that were found to be paying their workers what could be considered less than a respectable wage…in order that we British could find ourselves a nice bargain. At the same time I continued to sew and learn through mistakes and was even receiving the odd compliment on the clothes I wore. I told these people how easy it was to make the clothes but heard repeated expressions of doubt, as if I must have a particular knack for sewing, which I insist I do not.

Rosie Martin, DIYCouture Founder

I had a commission to make an outfit and I chickened out of plowing in, as I usually would have, and went to buy a sewing pattern. After I finally bought something from a large array of fuddy-duddy looking patterns, I opened it to find an almost mind-bogglingly, confusing sheet of sewing code! After I worked out what was going on, I realised that the pattern was actually very simple, but the means of explanation made the process pretty baffling.

I thought it would be great if more people had the confidence to take to the sewing machine and make the odd piece of clothing for themselves, rather than turning immediately to the high street. I thought that all they needed was a clear and simple means of explanation and some encouragement – an honest voicing telling them: you can do it!

Darlings: How did you decide on the format for the books as the best way to deliver your patterns and instruction to consumers?
Rosie: I knew that I wanted the instructions to be as visually simple as possible. I didn’t want people to have to turn to different parts of the book to look up the meaning of words or symbols, I wanted it all there right in front of them as they needed it. I wrote all the words, drew the diagrams, and took all the pictures of my hands making the clothes, then as I sat down at the computer (with my Dad, who is a typographer by trade) to design the pages. I wanted all the information in the books to be necessary and the layout to be easy on the eye. We sat down with these thoughts in mind, and the books as they are is what we came up with!

Do you think people are understanding slow fashion as part of their lifestyle?
Rosie: I think with the economic upheaval there has been an environmental awareness of waste and social awareness of wasteful consumption. There does seem to be an awareness of sustainability in the mainstream now and this includes – slowly, slowly! – in peoples awareness of clothing, or fashion. There does seem to be a move towards garments whose history is there for all to see and towards designs with lasting appeal that won’t end up in the bin after two or three uses. This is in stark contrast to the ‘fast fashion’ ideal of churning out product that through it’s low pricing is almost shouting: “keep buying more, faster!”

Darlings: From when you began, do you think more people are seeking this out as part of their lifestyle as a way to be less wasteful?
Rosie: I think there are a lot of people that are seeking out the knowledge to build something themselves with almost a ‘ back to basics’ ideology. People are growing their own vegetables and building there own furniture. At the same time people are also seeking out the DIY way in our post-Millennium world as they are excited about having production in their own hands. We now have MySpace and YouTube, meaning that almost anyone can get their music out there or be their own mini-movie director. So I think for some people it is a way to avoid buying throwaway fashion and for some it it is a way of having fun, by having a go at making something that you usually receive whole and packaged.

Darlings: How many garments do you think you have made to this point in your career? If you had to guess, how many people have you empowered to make their own clothing?
Rosie: I have made too many! I made quite a lot of FAILS as I was designing the collection as it was sort of a “I make the mistakes so you don’t have to” period. I had to try out all the garments in the collection and see what could go wrong, so that I could instruct people properly on what they needed to know. I would say I have made more than 200 pieces of clothing. I have also had the chance to sell some of these off at a couple of fairs I am happy to say, so they haven’t gone to waste.

I have had a few hundred book sales and these are climbing all the time, as well as a few tutorials published on line and in magazines – most recently on the Etsy blog, so in my humble estimate it must be bordering on 1000 people that have had a go. That’s a very nice thought! I hope it keeps getting bigger!

Darlings: How often do you add a new design to the collection?
Rosie: I designed the collection all in one blast as I had the overly ambitious idea that I would release one book a month throughout 2010. However, due to the cost of printing and my short sightedness with regards to funds I have only been able to print the first three of the series. So the remaining nine are sitting there waiting to go! I am going to release two more in the next six weeks as either downloadable pdf’s or as electronic books on CDs that will be posted out to customers. Then I hope to make
enough money to print the sixth book before the year is out. I have just this week signed a contract with the publisher Laurence King and they are then going to put the next six instructions together in one big DIYcouture book, along with six brand new
designs.

Darlings: Are you tracking the designs as they are made across the globe?
Rosie: That is a great idea, I wish I were!! It would be so cool to have a map with little dots all around the world where people are DIYCing. I have had a few customers send me pictures of the clothes they have made with the instructions and I absolutely love it. It is great to see how different every single piece is. I do plan to make the DIYcouture blog more … sensible…. soon and to write to customers asking them to send in their best pictures of themselves posing in the garments. I’d love to get these images out there.

Darlings: Is there anything you want to make sure everyone knows about DIYcouture or anything else you think is important?
Rosie: My main message is to people who don’t believe they have the skills to make a piece of clothing that looks professional. I am here to tell you that you, even as someone with no sewing experience, you absolutely can create something that you are proud of. Sewing machines are very straightforward and intuitive – I believe the best way to learn to sew is to go for it with a piece of clothing. Believe in your hands!

Love Letter Sweater
Woven shredded letters, sleeve trim is handspun paper thread

Isn’t this image beautiful? I spotted this installation by Crystal Cawley in the window of Space Gallery in Portland, Maine when I arrived for a visit last week. I quickly realized my Brooklyn housemate had sent me a text-image of the window a few days before; so great and lucky to have friends on the lookout for inspirations to send my way. Thanks to all of you darlings! Read on and get to know Crystal and how she created her collection: Protective Coloration.

This work combines my interest in the form and function of clothing with the possibilities of paper. I savor the challenge of translating the technical details and methods of working with fabric to working with paper. I also love reusing things—all of these garments are made of materials that used to be something else. Family Tree Apron is made of pages from a 1960s parenting book called Mothercraft. I used art postcards collected from museums and galleries or sent to me by friends for Cold Comfort Coat, and Love Letter Sweater is woven from letters sent to me by my partner when we didn’t live in the same state.

Love Letter Sweater
Detail

Darlings: Tell us about you…where are you from, are you a full-time artist etc?
Crystal: I make sculpture, artist’s books, prints, and other works on and of paper. I have an MFA and BFA in painting and printmaking, and have been using paper as my primary medium for twenty-odd years. I’ve lived in Portland, Maine, since 1996, and am a full-time artist, which means that I do a lot of different things to keep making stuff and supporting myself. I make and show my work and sell it when I’m lucky. I teach and give talks about my work. I mend books for the public library, and I bind books and build boxes on commission. I play the piano, am the accompanist for a few choirs, and teach beginner piano lessons. My partner and I own our three-family apartment building, so we play landlord and landlady and have learned all sorts of things about old house maintenance, Portland’s building codes, and how to get good tenants (most important).

Cold Comfort Coat
Art postcards, chopped into squares and zigzag stitched together, grommets, waxed linen thread lacing, velcro, trim is scrunched brown paper

Darlings: We love this quote, it seems almost like the tagline, can you tell us a bit more how it pulls together your project?

Protective coloration affords an animal protection from observation either by its predators or by its prey, and can be classified as concealing, revealing, or deceiving.

Crystal: I use titles, whether of individual pieces or for exhibitions, that are thought-provoking and open to interpretation. When I was thinking of a name for this show, I considered that the kinds of garments I was making are all ones that are used as protection. Most clothes, micro bikinis aside, afford protection in one way or another, but certain garments, like aprons, coats, or sweaters, have a more direct relationship to protecting us. I especially liked the idea that protective coloration can hide something, show something, trick you, or do all of these things.

Family Tree Apron
Old book pages, chopped into squares and mounted on tracing paper, embroidery thread, rickrack, yarn, velcro

Darlings: Do you think what we wear to have a meaning, a history, or a memory?
Crystal: Given our enormous capacity for creating and assigning meaning to an extraordinary range of things, some of us will find meaning in what we wear. The paper clothing in this exhibition incorporates both history and memory, because it is made of items from my personal life. I must point out that these garments I made are sculpture and not wearable clothing. They are a little larger than life-size—I scaled them for a body for which an average adult female would appear child-sized—about 11 years old. I think of them as clothes for Big Mommy, who doesn’t exist except in my head.

Family Tree Apron – Detail

Darlings: We love how all of the materials you used for this installation are re-used items. Why did you choose to use paper instead of fabric?
Crystal: Paper has been my medium for many years—even when I was mostly painting, I painted on paper not canvas. I have always re-used things, starting with my own work—I’d tear up old drawings and paintings to make new pieces.  In the last five years or so I have started including bits and pieces of fabric with the paper in my work, but until recently, have not used fabric by itself. This year I started a series of large (36 x 60 inches) letterpress prints, half of which are on fabric and which I am working into with hand and machine embroidery (there’s a picture of a paper print in one of the studio shots). Though I’ve worked with fabric since I started making clothes when I was a teenager, it’s a completely different experience using it for art. It just feels weird, though not in a bad way—I am paying attention to what happens as I progress. I’m most interested in putting paper and fabric together somehow, which presents more possibilities and challenges than using one or the other.

Handbag
Shredded letters, woven for bag and looped for chain strap

Darlings: Do you have any favorite clothing designers (or artists) using recycled materials?
Crystal: I’m a fan of Ralph Rucci, Madame Grès, and vintage Balenciaga, who don’t or didn’t re-use materials to my knowledge, but whose structures, contours, textures, and detailing inspire me. I’m also fond of clothing made of recycled clothes and fabric, in the DIY tradition. As for artists using recycled materials, I’m a long-time admirer of Robert Rauschenberg, Lenore Tawney, and Joseph Cornell. Maine artist Katherine Cobey, who I don’t know personally but whose work I love, knits astonishingly beautiful, ethereal garments out of plastic bags. My friend Bryant Holsenbeck, an artist in North Carolina, does wondrous things with bottle caps and cat food cans.

Boots
Packing tape, black vinyl tape, three-ring binder reinforcements

Darlings: We are totally coveting these rain boots! Can you share with us your process for creating them?
Crystal: You start by wrapping clear 2” packing tape sticky side out around whatever you want to form (for my boots I used a giant pair of old Wellingtons—you can also do people, parts of people). You keep wrapping and overlapping the tape until you get the whole object covered in a layer of sticky-side-out tape. Once this is done, you continue wrapping with tape, sticky side in, so that you are covering that first layer of stickiness with smoothness. At any point you can put inclusions in the layers—sequins, glitter, whatever the tape will hold (I used three-ring binder paper reinforcements for the dot pattern on my boots). After you’ve got several layers of tape on and it seems like your cast object will be sturdy enough on its own, you carefully cut a seam somewhere (I cut down the back of each boot, from top edge to the back base of the heel), and take the cast off the object. This step is kind of like when an insect sheds an old shell—it makes a satisfying faint cracking sound as you peel it off. To finish, you tape the seam closed, add any other embellishments (the black vinyl tape details on my boots), and there you have it!

]]> http://www.smashingdarling.com/blog/2010/09/02/protective-coloration/feed/ 5 http://www.smashingdarling.com/blog/2010/08/25/lorraine-sanders-founder-of-sf-indie-fashion/ http://www.smashingdarling.com/blog/2010/08/25/lorraine-sanders-founder-of-sf-indie-fashion/#comments Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:00:16 +0000 trish http://www.smashingdarling.com/blog/?p=8092

We have to thank the girls at Made Jewelry, Abigail and Debbie, for starting their video series, Made in SF. Below is episode #3 we wanted to share with you. It is a short moment in time with founder, Lorraine Sanders, of SF Indie Fashion blog. She is a huge fan and supporter of local fashion which comes through loud and clear in her blog. The independent fashion industry has so much going on in SF, they are lucky to have someone like Lorraine shouting it out. Enjoy meeting her through the video, we did.

Click here to view the embedded video.

You can also read more about Abigail and Debbie in a post by M.I.S.S. in the Women Making History Series.

Collaboration is key darlings! When jewelry designer Vanessa Gade joined Smashing Darling we were happy to discover she is part of a designer co-op out in San Francisco: The Mission Statement. Whether you live nearby, or find you are headed there for a jaunt, do pay them a visit. You will be happy you did, and may even thank us for letting you in on this indie shopping spot you might not have found on your own. Read our Q & A with Vanessa below to find out more about her, her lovely jewelry and how she became involved with The Mission Statement.

Darlings: How did you get into jewelry design?
Vanessa: I had always been a bit of a crafty kid but I don’t know if I consider macaroni necklaces jewelry design… I first started metalsmithing while studying to be a historian at UCSD. I was really into photography back then and volunteered to help install the new darkroom going in to the crafts center on campus. Adjacent to the darkroom was the jewelry studio, I was fascinated by the molten metal, the array of tools and sparkly stones. I wandered in and never looked back.

Darlings: When did you start your own line of jewelry?
Vanessa: I had a line that I started early on while I was apprenticing a silversmith in San Diego, but I officially launched my proper business and signature line in San Francisco in September 2007.

Vanessa Gade, $172

Darlings: What inspires your designs?
Vanessa: Strong lines, geometric shapes, high contrast shadows, Ikebana flower arrangements, criss-crossing power lines, suspension bridges, cool old trees..

Darlings: What does your average day entail? …and what is your favorite part?
Vanessa: Wearing many hats! Designer, office manger, metalsmith, customer service rep… I generally try to divide my days into admin and studio days. Admin days I take care of the nuts and bolts of the business side and on my studio days I get to go in and create away….that is definitely my favorite part. When I have gotten so deep into a design or creation, the zone that just keeps you rolling and hours do pass before you know it…..and then the fulfillment when you have manifested something from an idea in your head to a tangible piece that you can actually wear.

Vanessa Gade, $185

Darlings: Who founded The Mission Statement (and when), and how did you become a part of the co-op?
Vanessa: Estrella Tadeo is the managing partner and the co-op was founded in February of 2008. I was actually part of the preceding coop, Porcelyne Gallery, when that closed several of those original members came together and opened The Mission Statement.

Vanessa Gade, $132

Darlings: How is the co-op managed? Is it hard to have multiple designers running one space?
Vanessa: I am posed that question often and from the outside it would seem like an unlikely venture to have 8 different women designers working in sync like we do. But I have to admit that the women I work with have become like a family to me and are some of my closest friends now. Its very inspiring and motivating to have these individuals around me, we are all in it for mutual success and are totally supportive of each other. I can honestly say I have to give major credit to Estrella, she is the brainchild and heartbeat of the store and is definitely what keeps it all together. The model of the store is such that all of us are considered equal and take an equal part in covering rent and retails shifts, however Estrella acts as the managing partner which gives our business model some structure and direction.

Vanessa Gade, $175

Darlings: As a co-op do you collaborate on events? Are you getting ready for any right now?
Vanessa: Funny you should ask as we are in the middle of planning our annual block party …. an awesome Mission District community event with live entertainment and a fashion show. Details to follow …and in fact last week we put on an event in conjunction with a great organization called NEST www.buildanest.com. An organization of women artisan stateside raising funds and awareness for women artisans in developing nations and providing micro-loans for them to start their own businesses and support networks!

Vanessa Gade, $185

Darlings: Tell us about something you LOVE that you want others to know about.
Vanessa: Besides PIZZA?!?!? (laugh) Professionally my biggest thrill is when someone says: Wow, I’ve never seen something like that before. That’s a sign to me and I get great satisfaction knowing that something I created makes someone stop stare and think a minute…whether it’s their style or not they have taken a moment and noticed.

This interview makes me happy. All of you darling designers make us happy. Thank you for keeping us inspired to stay on our path, follow our dream. Anjia Jalac has been on the site for some time. She was one of the first crew to respond to a question we shouted out to the community, she was listening – that keeps us going (hint). We met her at our first Darling Soiree last June (there will be more, promise)…and now we can all get to know her a bit better in the interview below. The best part – she shared a sneak peek at some of her new designs about to land in her (delicious) Darling boutique … love and cupcakes for all!

Cheers to the fun-loving, show-stopping fabulous dame, who wears what she pleases, whenever, wherever, and with whomever she sees fit.  Where wardrobe is one fierce accomplice to her ever changing, sassy sense of style.  Something different- sometimes delicate, carefully hand crafted, guaranteed original, and hardly ever bland.  Some inspired by time periods, some by textures, some by people.  Built from recycled vintage, found fabrics, reworked textiles and some good ‘ol fashion lovin’, of course.  Guaranteed fresh from Brooklyn, NY.
love, anjia

Darlings: Where are you from originally, and how did you get into fashion?
Anjia: I grew up in Marinduque, Philippines!  When I couldn’t spend the day outside, because of rain or a fever, I would doodle girls in different outfits.  I guess that became a bit of a love affair.  Nothing else came along that interested me more than making clothes…

Cupckake Skirts – coming soon

Darlings: When did you start your own line of clothing?
Anjia: A little over 3 years ago.  Before that, I was making clothes here and there for friends, myself and family.

Darlings: If your studio walls could talk, what would they say?
Anjia: Hmm. Well, the time I spend at my studio has fluctuated on a roller coaster scale: a few obsessive over-nighters in a row, then there’s an absence on my part.  Inspiration comes in bursts.  I think my studio would prefer a little more consistency in the relationship, and would say so, if she could. I definitely agree. We’re working it out. =)

Darlings: What inspires your designs?
Anjia: Friends and lovers, live and inanimate.  Vintage science fiction, space creatures, desserts with frosting, reptile parts, insects, found objects, indigenous people, functionality, recycling, old technology and machinery, my sister, natural textures, Tom Waits.

Darlings: You are also a freelance costume designer, tell us all about it! Any favorite costumes, and what for?
Anjia: It’s fun!  I’ve had the lovely opportunity to work with Bill T. Jones, making costumes for some of his modern dance pieces and it’s been a great experience.  Doing research for a specific costume project sometimes carries over to my collection and definitely adds to the design process.  I’ll run into inspiration that I may not have ever come across if it wasn’t for the certain project.  As far as favorites, I have a couple.  But if I had to pick the most fun, I think it would be for the British Columbia Milk Ad campaign.  Those were the teeny tiniest costumes I’ve ever built.  It reminded me of when I was kid, trying to make costumes for my dolls- fun!

Darlings: How do you market yourself and your label?
Anjia: It’s a clothing line made of, and with, love.  I try to carry that through, from conception to presentation.

Darlings: What is a day in the life of Anjia like?
Anjia: ummm. ..It varies from day to day

Bearded Lady, $190

Darlings: Is there anything that drives you crazy about the fashion industry?
Anjia: Nothing that’s been enough to keep me away. =)

Darlings: Who are your fashion icons? Do you think they influence your personal style?
Anjia: My personal style is very mix and match.  I can’t really peg it on any one icon.  I’m a big fan of the functionality in the clothing of tribal cultures mixed with the feminine lifestyles of past eras and the silhouettes of sassy vintage science fiction pin-ups.

Dragoness Tunic, $150

Darlings: Do you have any events that you are getting ready for in the near future?
Anjia: I’m brewing up a couple of events for the summer.  I’ll be posting updates soon at www.loveanjia.tumblr.com!

Last Friday I watched everyone involved in the New Faux show at House of Yes rock the night, it was a beautiful thing. Kudos to everyone! I would have posted this recap sooner if it wasn’t for wanting to connect with Kaytee, Papusza Couture,  to recapture our conversation that night. Something about my approach to House of Yes that night instantly brought me back back to the Rebel Fashion Show in Iceland last September. If you don’t know that story, you can read more and see some Darling video here. Maybe I was picking up on the closure Kaytee was finally going to have, getting to show the collection intended to be shown in Iceland, and that is what I wanted her to get to share with you below.

Photo via Zimbio

Darlings: Can you see yourself doing a fashion show that doesn’t include performance art?
I can and I have in the past, although it is not my preference to showcase without performance art/theatrics. I think of my garments as the surreal, or a dream. In my mind my collections are like a story, each garment representing a different character or chapter. When showcasing these collections I like to create another world, a story or a dream to pull the audience into. I don’t think the common view of reality should limit what we wear or how we live our lives. I think people need to give a little more credit to dreamers and those who try to break the molds of what is normal.