Alterations - A Playlist

My day-to-day doing alterations for Germantown Cleaners and private clients, complete with awesome tunes.
(2) Tie-dyed moo moos [hem at 2" and create a 14" side slit]
Donovan - There is a Mountain
(2) Dickies work pants [hem to 31" inseam]
The Kinks - Powerman
(1) Wedding Dress [add more snaps and "do something with this God awful sash"]
Vanessa Carlton - I Don't Want to be a Bride
(3) Dress pants [shorten by 1.5"]
Dolly Parton - 9 to 5
(1) Dress pant with lining [shorten by 2.25"]
Sugar and the High-Lows - Stubborn Lover
(1) Skirt with lining [shorten by 1.5"]
The Asteroids Galaxy Tour - Around the Bend
(1) Cropped dress pant [broken belt loop]
John Lennon - Oh Yoko
(1) Down comforter [patch hole ripped by dog]
Mos Def - Quiet Dog Bite Hard
(1) Jeans [patch hole]
Camera Obscura - French Navy

 

Heritage Dresses

Completed my second Heritage wedding dress for the future Mrs. Stephanie Wilson. We patterned the bodice and neckline from her grandmother's wedding dress. I removed all of the antique lace applique from the original, paired it with bright white lace of the same style, and transferred it to the sheer layer to give the new dress dimension. A satin sash and nude flats will finish her look the day of.

Steph looks stunning, but it's bad luck to reveal the entire dress before the ceremony!

A Season of Miracles

A Season of Miracles wrapped a few weeks ago in Nashville, TN. A wonderful filming experience - and my first Assistant Costume Designer credit!

Big Bang Fashion

Some of the best costuming on cable TV. It's one show where the costumes enhance the exaggeration of the world we're supposed to be in for half an hour instead of neutralize it to popular trends. The overly quirked styles catch us off guard but help us to understand these socially inept and fascinating guys in ways that we may not if they were on point with trends or dressed as blandly as most scientists do. They create the ideal nerds because, let's be honest, engineers and astrophysicist would never wear pants that tight.

I am in no way complaining about the tightness of Johnny Galecki's pants. Ever. What?

May 25th

Just one post and then I'll stop talking about it.

I'm so excited to see this movie. Nineteen days, y'all.

McCheese

Cross Promotion: a form of marketing promotion where customers of one product or service are targeted with promotion of a related product.

The Funky Pepper makes jalapeño jelly that'll knock yer socks off.

I made this table cloth for my mom's shop, McCombs & Company, on Main Street in Faith. She sells homemade spreads and other locally made foods and caters here and there. The best seller is McCombs pimento cheese - a recipe that's been our family for decades and has been famous in Rowan County since 1958.

She has a stack of my business cards on the checkout counter. When someone picks one up, she points out that I made both the table cloth and the roman shade hanging in the window. Thanks for the cross promotion, mom!

Works in Progress

With my creative design projects being limited right now, I thought I would take this opportunity to update on the status of the wedding gown I'm building. It's bad luck to show the finished product before the bride walks down the isle, but as I was tweeking the bottom layer, I seized a photo op.

I died. This is ridiculous.

Most of the lace was taken from her grandmother's dress.

I stood back to look at this hot mess and imagined what my bride would say if she walked in.
"Oh uhhh....well...is that what you drew? I don't, uh, remember it being so..."
This is a common problem artists have when their studio (or in my case, front dining room) is open for people to see.
Getting a peek at a project when it's in progress freaks people out. They stutter around the idea that it looks like crap and sometimes they begin making suggestions on how to fix what they think is finished. We know it looks like a wreck at the moment, y'all, and sometimes we even know how to remedy it. One thing is for sure and that is that we know what we want the end result to be.
I hope I don't sound cantankerous when I tell you not to ask to see a project. If we offer, it's cool. We want your opinion. If not, we aren't ready to reveal our masterpieces.

That Rock Steady Beat

A blog hiatus means I've been busy busy. I'm outfitting an entire wedding party and designing a dress for another bride, and that's in between day playing with wardrobe departments and working on film sets.

Giving up Tumblr for Lent yielded another, slightly more productive website infatuation.I found this little craft gem on Pinterest. Wrapping your headphones in embroidery floss keeps them from getting tangled and protects from wire exposure. If you ever made a friendship bracelet in grade school, this project will be a breeze. I experimented on my own, then wrapped every set in my house (including my little brother's pair, who reluctantly let me cover his in camo colors.) 

I told her to rock out and this is what I get.
Kid can't take direction, but she's cute, so it's ok.

Rock steady, y'all. 

  

Fit to be Tied

Another venture in upcycling. Shoes (hand-me-downs) from Target ($15ish), embroidery floss (from stock), ribbon (from stock) + lots of patience.



boring.



ah, that's better.



Order up!

My next bridal client happens to be an old friend and the best waitress at Johnny's in Rockwell. She had me to take one of her old aprons and make a few new ones from the same pattern. These are super sturdy, can be made from any fabric, and tie with pretty grossgrain ribbon. After I finished a few for her, I made some for her to sell at work. Put in your custom order at Johnny's or contact me directly! 

 Plus - business cards!


Ooo Aaah





It's Cool to be Conscious!

I've been doing a lot of contract sewing for a few companies in and around Charlotte. I absolutely love these gigs. Working from home, on your own time, blaring music, and staying up late being as nit-picky as you want until the project turns out right.

Here are a few sample shorts completed for DRC ApeParel as part of their "High Life Series" in their spring and summer K.I.S.S. 2012 line. I love this brand. They use vibrant fabrics inspired by African prints and promote awareness about the atrocities happening to women and children of The Congo.

DRC takes their designs nationwide and they hope to enter department stores soon! In the meantime, you can find their clothes online or at fashion shows from Charlotte to Raleigh and beyond. 

A Day at the Races

You're the boss! You da boss! BOSSMAN!

Last weekend was landmark for me. I worked my first commercial as the sole wardrobe person on set! The Quicken Loans ad group came down from Detroit to film at Tony Stewart's racing headquarters and the Concord Speedway.

The commercial will promote a contest in which the winner gets to hang out with Stewart and Ryan Newman and tour the body shop. There's a cash prize and probably some sort of car ride involved as well (a fast car ride, in a circle, maybe?). Be 'the Bossman' for a day, really. The commercial is going to be a hoot. I'll post it once it's finished.

The film crew was wonderful and immensely talented. We enjoyed watching the pit crew in action, but they slowed it down for the camera. That was slowing it down?

Sweet.

UPDATE! Here's a link to the finished commercial!
http://vimeo.com/38804690

I Was Always 'That Kid'

I have a new found respect for the sewers of Barbie clothes. Little capped sleeves are tedious. I designed an outfit for my cousin's social studies project on Civil War nurses. I'm submitting these pictures to Mattel for a new line of historical Barbie dolls. The first installment: Gettysburg Barbie.

Basically what it comes down to is, my future children will have the best school projects. I was always 'that kid' and they will be 'that kid.' 

Knitted

I made these letters for a friend of mine who's expecting a baby boy in the next few weeks! We can't wait to meet little William Alden Lomax!

Cardboard from our recycling bin, four skeins of yarn from Walmart, knitting needles, and a ton of hot glue.

Making these was an adventure in typography and geometry, and pretty relaxing once I began knitting and wrapping. They make wonderful gifts and can come in any color combination! Shoot me an email or call for an estimate. 

Up.cyc.ling [v]

- the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value

Anne Taylor herringbone blazer, size M, circa '94 (Goodwill $5)

Remove and discard of ugly lining and dye blazer in strong coffee for 3+ hours

Reline with bold, contrasting color whilst sipping green tea and listening to music

Proceed to rock

Pantone Color of 2012

It's blood orange, it's my tomato pin cushion, it's a burst of color in a neutral palette, it's a color I must have in my wardrobe this year! It's bold, fresh, it's Tangerine Tango!

Wouldn't you love a silk blouse in this color?
I'm on it.

Something Kind Of Fantastic

They're up! Pictures of my prize-winning Fantastic Mr. Fox costumes from the Mixtape Series are posted under the 'Projects' tab. The photos feature Shelby as Ash and Mallory as Kristofferson. I'm so lucky to have my cousins across the street and willing to model in exchange for chocolate.

"I consider myself an athlete, but I'm beginning
to think that you don't see me that way."

The masks are made with milk jugs, felt, fabric, styrofoam, and Sharpies. A few of the clothing pieces were found at Goodwill, Walmart, and in my closet. Ash's "A" pin is hand-embroidered and Kristofferson's yellow shoes are hand-painted.

Just a Preview...

I'll post more photos of the award-winning Fantastic Mr. Fox costumes I made for the Mixtape Series at the Carolina Theater soon, ya'll! I have to convince my sister to model the Ash mask...

Satin stitches

My first attempts at hand embroidery...

Not bad, huh?

Side Projects

Just because there isn't a deal memo involved, doesn't mean I'm not busy.

Work piles up at home and down the block while I'm on projects. When I have a free week or two, I knock them out. Curtains, cushions, hemlines, etc.

Armrest covers for the living room couch

Do couches not come with these anymore?

I absolutely love little endeavors like these. Over the holidays, my younger cousins would come over and watch me sew. I take them fabric swatching and teach them design lingo, color schemes, and the qualities of  a good faux fur. They choose fabrics for their prom and wedding dresses and future homes. It's the best kind of quality time.

Spirit Week

No event is too small for hair tests!

Crazy Hair Day

Southeast Middle School

model: Mallory Maycock