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Maker Faire

Mo

Independent Fashion and Sustainability

by Mo on October 21, 2010

What’s Going On
We’ve been chatting over on our Facebook page about eco-friendly fashion, sustainability, and independent designers. We don’t have all the answers, but we’d love your input as a supporter of indie designers. Read more…

We believe independent fashion is a niche market that is here to stay, and has nowhere to go but up. But, don’t we all get by with a little help from our friends? You can support indie designers by spreading the word. Please take the next week to let 5 people, shoppers or designers, in your world know that Smashing Darling is here!


What’s New
Fall has definitely set in here in CT and NYC where we type to you from. We’re thinking about new layers to keep us warm. What are your favorites?

Don’t miss the new collections that have been added to Darling boutiques over the past few weeks:
Stacie May serves up some sass, Minna K says it all with silk, and Kristin Hassan… so sweet and flirty! Did we mention we are over 700 designers strong? They’re all just smashing.


Love your Local
If we could hop around from fashion week to fashion week across the country we definitely would. But alas, we need a few more Darlings for that. In the meantime here is a mini round-up of some local fashion inspiration around the U.S. of A.

Tampa Fashion Week: K. Hendrix runway shots, shop the runway collection right here on Smashing Darling – on sale.

Philly Fashion goes mobile!

Portland Fashion Week:


Darling Kudos and tidbits
We didn’t mean to leave fab MNFashion out of the above list, we ran out of room! Pale Rider looked like it was a delicious show. A lovely treat to see beautiful  Willow Tree in real life and over on Elle.com... We made some new friends at Maker Faire, and last week one lucky BurdaStyle member won $100 to shop here at Smashing Darling! September flew by and now we are ready for Halloween trickery, if your costume needs some couture (of course it does!) Papusza Darling is here to save you – boo!


Always * Darling * Forever

For more convo follow us on Twitter.

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trish

Darling Fun At Maker Faire

by trish on October 1, 2010

Ok, so we know we are a bit late posting our round up from last weekend’s Maker Faire. It doesn’t lessen the message that Maker Faire was awesome and if you ever get to the opportunity to attend, do yourself a favor and go. The atmosphere is  scientific and techie but there is also a boat load of creativity out there in the world most of us don’t get to see on a regular basis. It is good to see life through the eyes of a person that says: well, what if we did it this way?


Just a stripey snapshot, see them all in Flickr.

We teamed up with Burdastyle to help run their booth in the Bust Craftacular portion of Maker Faire, representing not only their company but independent fashion as well. Myself, Trishdarling, along with another designer Desira Pesta were asked to use Burdastyle’s open source, downloadable patterns to create pieces to show and sell at the fair. We had a blast hanging with Desira in the booth for two days and met lots off great people from far and wide.  Sharp Shirter who was directly across the way, provided us with lots of laughs… and is now, I am happy to say, one of our newest designers to join Smashing Darling.

One-of-a-kind, Desira Pesta … went home with a lucky shopper.

SMASH UP’s spread the good Darling word!

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Mo

Welcome to # 42: Independent Fashion, Always Darling Forever

by Mo on August 17, 2010

What’s Going On
Are you shopping for Fall? We can’t bear to give up the summer vibe around here at Darling headquarters. Enjoy these long days flitting around in your summer favorites as long as you can!  Sure, maybe you (or your kids) have to get back to school soon..but summer is sticking around for another month. Soak it up darlings! Scan this newsletter for some darling summery sale items, as well as pieces that can transition you into Fall. Don’t forget, you earn store credit with every purchase you make!

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Project Runway Darling
Does inspiration strike every time you catch a glimpse of Project Runway? Do you ever think maybe you want to play along and try and whip up a creation of your own? We say go for it!
When Darling Kimberly Hendrix found out she wasn’t selected for Project Runway, Season 8…she took it upon herself to video blog her process of each challenge from her home studio. What a Darling idea! Read on in the Darling blog: Darling K. Hendrix Goes One on One with Project Runway.

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Darling Fashion Everywhere
Summer is just non-stop goodness. We love seeing creative darlings in communities around the country collaborating and supporting each other. Events like Lovestruck in San Diego, museums supporting designers creating wearable art in Austin and Denver, and indie shopping events in all shapes and sizes everywhere!
Summer will come to an end, but all of this creativity goes on and on.
Smashing Kudos and tidbits
Fashion week in NYC is coming soon, but it seems in Darling-land there is always a fashion week or runway happening somewhere! Don’t miss this Papusza runway slideshow … Austin Fashion Week is underway as we type … Krelwear steams up Swim week in Miami…and speaking of swimwear Fasshonaburu notices new Darling Crochetini! …Read about Darling 57thirtythree in the SF Chronicle – congrats!

One last tidbit, don’t forget to save the date, Maker Faire hits NYC for the first time this September 25th and 26th!


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cheers ~ the Darlings

So, do you like us? If so you are automatically entered into our Facebook Monthly Giveaway…tell your friends darlings!

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Mo

Designer Toolbox: Support for Independent Fashion

by Mo on May 25, 2010

In Your Experience…
This month began with the news of GenArt closing it’s doors after 16 years supporting emerging artists across the country: fashion, film, music. While this was sad news for so many, the news left us with lots of questions: What will replace it? How can indie artists come together to support each other in a way that is financially viable today?

It was also unsettling to read that many designers had lost money in the fallout, including Kate Boggiano who has a boutique here at Smashing Darling. Have you ever lost money to a production company? Is there a solution to situations like this? How do you protect yourself? Please comment or send us an email (trishandjulie@smashingdarling.com) if you have advice for fellow designers.

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Uniform Project wears Papusza Limbs

how to: Help Your Shoppers
If you are sending out newsletters to your customers, chatting in person, tweeting, or all of the above…be sure to let them know about our new Frequent Shopper Program — it rocks! The more they spend, the more they earn.

Recently Viewed
Shoppers viewing history is now saved as they peruse around all of your Darling creations — this makes shopping so much easier. Send us a screenshot of your 5 most recently viewed items, and we will be happy to share them in the blog.

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Revolution
Fashion advocates in DC? Yes indeed. Congratulations to Lara Miller who was awarded the Leadership in Emerging Business Award at the first annual State of Style Awards and Advocacy Day in Washington.

What is indie fashion? Mainstream fashion? Where do you, as designer or shopper, fit into these definitions? Last week Not Just A Label rocked our world with their answer. Read their musings on Alternative Fashion, and please fill us in on your own unique definition.

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Call For Vendors
Looking for markets and events to get out there in front of your community? Here are a few that have rolled across our screen looking for you…

Maker Faire is coming to NYC! Apply and learn more.

Artist & Fleas – Brooklyn’s longest-running indie and emerging artist/designer/vintage collector market.

Raleigh, NC – The producers of the Rock & Shop Market bring you an indieNC First Friday Market each month. Apply or learn more.

San Francisco – There is still some room for designers to sell at the next Art in The Square. Email your website to Owen Geronimo@gmail.com for consideration.

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cheers! ~ the Darlings

p.s. Have you told your fans to join our monthly Facebook giveaway yet? Just give us a thumbs up to join…

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trish

Call For Makers: World Maker Faire New York 2010

by trish on May 14, 2010

We are sharing this just because we think it is cool and we wanted to help spread the word. It would be awesome to have darling independent fashion designers enter Maker Fair New York.

Maker Faire New York

“We are now accepting entries for the 1st Annual World Maker Faire New York, September 25 and 26, 2010 at New York Hall of Science. This year’s focus is on Young Makers and we are excited to be engaging Makers of all ages around innovation, inspiration and education. We look forward to reviewing your application.”

Key Points:

  • Maker Faire New York: September 25 and 26, 2010.
  • Entry Open Date: April 15, 2010. Please enter early so we can reserve space for your exhibit.
  • Entry Form

Organized by the staff of Make magazine, makezine.com and craftzine.com, Maker Faire is a newfangled fair that brings together science, art, craft and engineering plus music in a fun, energized, and exciting public forum. The aim is to inspire people of all ages to roll up their sleeves and become makers. This family-friendly event showcases the amazing work of all kinds of makers – anyone who is embracing the DIY spirit and wants to share their accomplishments with an appreciative audience.

We encourage you to join the fun and enter a project to exhibit.

The first step to participating in Maker Faire is to submit an entry.

Here is a list of the categories:

  • Student Projects
  • Robotics
  • Music Performance and Participation
  • 3D Printers and CNC Mill
  • Textile Arts and Crafts
  • Home Energy Monitoring
  • Rockets and RC Toys
  • Sustainability
  • Green Tech
  • Radios, Vintage Computers and Game Systems
  • Electronics
  • Electric Vehicles
  • Biology/Biotech and Chemistry Projects
  • Food and Beverage Makers
  • Robotics
  • Puppets
  • Kites
  • Bicycles
  • Shelter (Tents, Domes, etc.)
  • Unusual Tools or Machines
  • How to Fix Things or Take them Apart (Vacuums, Clocks, Washing Machines, etc.)

Read the rest of the particular’s at Maker Faire.

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Mo

Darling Designer Profile: Jacob Vaughn, Project TransAction

by Mo on April 7, 2009

Jacob Vaughn is an artist/designer living in San Francisco who runs a small, independently owned screen-printing and leather-working business. His business, Project TransAction, strives to work with the most socially responsible companies available, with the intention of creating affordable, thought provoking goods that people can feel confident investing in. The politics of small, local, and independent business are intrinsic to TransAction’s mission. His shop uses earth-friendly, bio-degradable cleaners and 90% of the leather used is recycled or from scrap.

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Darlings: When and how did you first start your business?
Jacob: Project TransAction (PT ) was born in August 2006 as an art/life project dealing with independent business and bartering. To me it’s more than a business, it’s ongoing artwork and study of how indie businesses work in the current time and economy. My artistic nature doesn’t lend itself to working for other people, and I felt like I was giving up too much of myself at other jobs. To make my life more fulfilling, I started Project TransAction.

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Darlings: How did you learn your craft, specifically leather-working?
Jacob: The leather-working aspect of PT came about when I was flipping baseball gloves on e-bay to supplement my income. I started deconstructing them to make dog collars, and became very interested in the challenge of properly manufacturing leather goods. I find this type of work very relaxing (and the hammering is a major stress reliever!) and decided to combine it with screen-printing to create exciting, unique items that only get better with time.

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Darlings: What influences your work?
Jacob: Film, public transportation, pop culture, other artists, vintage advertisements, science, documentaries, things I read, love.

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Darlings: What is the hardest part about being in business for yourself?
Jacob: Not having a consistent paycheck. If I don’t work, I don’t eat. Also, the lack of human contact can get to me at times. It’s a very solitary and demanding job, but I wouldn’t change it for anything!

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Darlings: What is your favorite music to be playing while you are in production?
Jacob: Aesop Rock, Mos Def, RJD2, Tracy + the Plastics…anything with a good beat. I tend to shake it a lot when I’m by myself in the shop.

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Darlings: Do you have any events that you are getting ready for in the near future?
Jacob: Indeed! Project TransAction will be vending at the next Mission Indie Mart (@ the Independent in SF 4/26/09), Brooklyn Indie Market (@ Carroll Gardens, NYC 4/26/09), IndieSacramento (@ Fremont Park 5/2/09) San Mateo Makers Faire (San Mateo Fairgrounds in conjunction with Bazaar Bizarre 5/30 + 5/31), as well as a handful of other upcoming events. Support local artists and businesses!

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