i am slow.

or at least i feel like i am slow. in actuality, i am pulled in too many directions, so something is always left to the wayside. in this case it is my blog. i have had many people comment that i haven't posted in a long time, and that would be right. my convoluted sense of how things have to be done has led to a strange list of conditions i put on myself when it comes to posting here.

the first one of them is photos. i am an awful photographer. you might disagree with this until i tell you that i don't take many of my own photos. and who wants to see a blog without photos? that is why i love twitter so much. it is all writing.

the next one is that i moved. it is true that i moved into my new studio at the coeur in september. i know that it seems like long enough, but know i have just finally finished unpacking last week. i thought i would hit the ground running when i got there, and i did. but transitions don't ever happen as fast as we and them to. people are still figuring out that i am there. heck, i am still figuring out that i am there. it still takes a moment to remember that i am not at the top of the stairs at the egg anymore. this has taken a good amount of time on the back end. much marketing, planning, moving furniture around to find the perfect configuration of studio and showroom. and actual open hours. yes, that's right. something i vowed never again to when i moved out of my retail space in 2003. but you know what? my business has evolved, and is evolving, and i have to go with it.

so many ideas. i have been developing new ideas. in between maintaining a busy online, wholesale and custom work business, i am designing new products. this year i have been working on (among other things): cocktail hats, veils and garter belts. it can be a long distance to travel from idea in the middle of the night or on a walk to my studio and its appearance on the ready to wear rack. many trials on different bodies for the most universal fit. much fretting over the perfect colour combinations. waiting for the answers to intricate design questions to surface from my subconscious. and lots and lots of research.

and lastly small projects. while it is hard to wrap my brain around the giant pile of small projects, i would rather take on the task of expertly fitting and mending peoples' wardrobes and making custom everyday clothes than booking out another wedding season. there, i said it. it is a little harder this way, but it is for the best. i would rather trade a little financial instability for my sanity. i am still making garters and flowers, and i am still willing to talk about your wedding dress (sometimes it is a really amazing fun project), but after so many wedding seasons, i am finding it more and more difficult to do.

oh, and i have been working behind the scenes on a couple of volunteer projects; ironically it will be involving me writing some blog posts.

that is what i have been up to. chances are, if you are reading this months later from the date of this post, wondering why i haven't posted, the reasons will be the same. maybe i will excavate and finish some of the posts that i have started over the last few months. who knows?