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?

december craft show madness or how much is too much?

this is the state of my floor as i prepare for shows 2 and 3 of this weekend. since friday: 50 feather hairpins (3rd photo, some sold) 10 feather pieces (added to the pile in the 2nd photo), several plain flowers (lost count of how many), goodies and coupons for sunday's handmade nw formal show, organizing the vendors for the p:ear show next weekend, and probably more, but i can't remember. my mantra for getting everything done, and it's working: one thing at a time from start to finish.

here is the short list of shows:

12.5 Sunnyside Environmental School Holiday Bazaar 11a-4p 3421 SE Salmon Street to raise funds for biology trips. There will be a raffle with fabulous prizes!

12.6 Handmade NW Formal Artisans Sale 10a-6p at the Chelsea Ballroom 1510 SE 9th (and Hawthorne) We will be dressed in out finery to present you with lovely handmade goods for the holiday season! swag bags to the first 100 to arrive!

12-13 P:ear craft show for the 12 days of P:ear fundraiser Sat 12.12 6p-9p Sun 12.13 10a-4p 338 NW 6th Avenue (and Flanders) two days of fun-filled crafty goodness with art, music food and libations.

12.19 Saint David's Last chance Holiday Bazaar 10a-3p in the Parish Hall 2800 SE Harrison featuring a raffle with fabulous prizes!

12.20 Last Chance Open Studio Sale at my studio! Kirsten and Brent will be open for your last minute holiday needs. Maybe we will have a special guest or two, maybe we will just be drinking by ourselves. Always entertaining; bring a friend! 323 NW 6th 2p-7p

(and my etsy shop, don't forget about that!)

together, you can buy out all of my stock, so i can do this every week! i have lots of ribbon to make more.

buy handmade for the holidays

here's where i can get preachy, and you probably realize my bias, but i have to say it: BUY HANDMADE FOR THE HOLIDAYS.

we can all try and debate whether art has value in society, so let's just assume that it does. myself, and most of the people i know make their livings by our hearts and hands. we are kind of old fashioned that way. if you have been following my career, you know that i try to make as much as i can on my own, and what i can't make, i try to get from another local artisan or small business. times have been difficult for many of us, and small gestures do make a big difference. big boxes have the finances behind them to weather out months of bad economy, whereas us little guys can have our lives turn south after only a couple of bad months. we are a large part of your local economy. i am not endorsing rampant consumerism, but a careful consideration of what you spend your money on and the impact of that purchase after money exchanges hands. so a few things i am asking you to consider when making a purchase:

where did it come from? who made it? how long will you use it? does it enhance your life or surroundings? can it be repaired if it breaks? recycled? can it be passed along to someone else when you are done with it?

and most of all: do you love it?

i live in a small space, so every object that i bring in to my house has to pass the "do you love it test". i have based my life and career around beautifying people and their surroundings. a necessity? some might not think so, but living in beautiful surroundings enhances my well being. so during the holiday season (and all year round too) go to one of the zillion craft fairs in your neighborhood (many of them are supporting local charities as well), your local farmer's market, small businesses, and etsy.

take the pledge:

fixing the holes

once in a while i will get a crazy idea born out of some twisted idea of necessity. part of this is a fixation with repairing much loved things. a good long time ago, i received a vintage faux fur coat as a gift. it became my primary winter coat. and one day there was a hole in the lining. i patched that hole with a crazy quilt fan block i pieced together from some random scraps. the outside of the coat was fine, but the lining was disintegrating. over the next couple of years as the lining continued to fall apart, i continued to patch up the holes. finally, the coat itself started to fall apart. it had its last hurrah during last summer's trip to the desert.

i acquired a new vintage coat last year. it is a lovely 1970's leather coat with powder grey shearling trim that my friend chris helped me buy from a guy in a bar who looks exactly like prince. it is a truly lovely coat, and the lining was intact. was. i pulled my coat out of the closet and discovered a HOLE in the lining. being that the saddest part of letting my old coat go was all of the time i spent adding crazy quilt patchwork to the lining. so i chopped it out.



an i spent a good part of today sewing and embroidering the old patches over the holes.



so begins my slippery slope. maybe someday someone will manufacture a lining that won't disintegrate, but that would be too easy.

some photos of the first incarnation

here are some photos of my new studio. i am still unpacking boxes, and trying to get into the swing of things. today i painted a screen that i have been meaning to finish for the better part of a decade (i know) and my a-board sign. i had help from my painter friend brent wear who is in charge of the art on the walls.


i am still on the fence about having regular hours, but i am available by appointment if you want to come visit. i will be posting my *by chance* hours on my twitter page.

change your studio change your life

so if you hadn't heard, i am moving my studio out of the egg. moving is always a bit scary, but i was bursting at the seams in my tiny space. as much as the egg has done for me, i am ready for something new. so i am moving. i will be back downtown tucked away in the back of the virtuoso gallery. it is a larger space that will be a work space and a permanent showroom. for those of you who live in portland, oregon (or just visiting), come see me in my new space! it is located at 323 nw sixth avenue between everett and flanders. i will be open first thursdays and by appointment. i am bad about taking photos, but i will take some soon once i get settled and post them. of course there will be an opening party sometime soon, maybe in october.

dress, dress, dress a rambling state of my wedding season

dress, dress, dress; it is all i can think about. mentally working out the design that my brain is not so graciously giving up in tiny pieces as the deadline approaches. she has worked her way into all of my thoughts, my dreams, my whole being until she is finished sometime in the next couple of days. i have given up trying to think about anything else; it is an exercise in futility. such is how things are when i am nearing a deadline. my mind is hard-wired to solve design problems. i have a particular outcome that i am fixated on, a particular vision that requires all the tricks up my sleeve, and my entire mental capacity as the deadline approaches.

the last weeks i have spent sketching, calculating, cutting, pinning, stitching, picking apart, fitting, measuring recalculating, clipping, pressing, gathering, stitching. obsessing over curves, avoiding unsightly lines, accentuating in some places, drawing the eye away from others..

bits of silk and threads cling to my skirt, which i notice later long after i have left my studio. i am still thinking, working it out long after i left work for the day. i never leave work behind. it is always there, addling my brain.

last night i met friends for drinks after work (9p). eyes glazed over, and incoherent, i try and try to hold a conversation about other things. in my mind the dress is working her details out. i am sure my friends probably think i am insane. my sentences are halting and distracted. i am sure i make little sense. although i have had only half a drink, i can blame it on the alcohol. but i cannot stop thinking about it. i am obsessed. i ride my bike home, and go to bed. as i drift in and out of consciousness before finally falling asleep, little bits of details float by weaving themselves into my dreams.

no matter far in advance i get started, no matter how i try to manage time between myself and my clients, i am always working up to the last minute. circumstances always seem to work out that way, not matter how hard i try to do otherwise. i have never missed a deadline, and things always work themselves out, but i can't stop worrying about it. even though i know everything will work out, i can't stop fretting over it. this dress is all i can think about today, and when i hand her off this weekend, there is another one waiting in the wings to take her place.

I WANT TO STOP WANTING part two

i just spent several hours last night with tracy draping her dress on her body. this is my preferred method of working in some cases. the elements of the design get to be tried out on the body, and we are guaranteed a perfect fit. i started out with some of the pieces cut out, some put together: the sleeves, the skirt. we spent the better part of the evening pulling and pinning, her trying out some movements very carefully (so she isn't stabbed with pins) and chatting while i stitched the pieces together after we had them worked out. all that is left to do is make a couple of alterations, and finish a few edges. everything else is almost done.

after a while, meshi showed up with some beer and snacks, and we worked out all of the last minute details before tomorrow's tech rehearsal. it is always a relief to get to a point where we know things are coming together, and the finish line is in sight. here's hoping that there are no wardrobe malfunctions tonight; although tonight is the best time for anything that might go wrong to show itself so that it may be corrected before opening night which is thursday:

I WANT TO STOP WANTING
a new dance work by Theory 1:Dance
Disjecta, 8371 N. Interstate
April 30th to May 2nd at 8:00 pm, and
May 3rd at 2:00 and 8:00 pm.
$14 at the door, $12 in advance.
www.disjecta.org to purchase tickets

theory1dance.com


Desire….it’s a word packed with emotions, good and bad. Desire shapes our interactions with those we love, it endlessly drags us into the past
and unknowingly shapes our future. It propels us into action, and grinds us to a halt. “I want to stop Wanting” is an exploration of desire: how we hold it, how it burdens us, and how we let it go. Created by Tracy Broyles and Meshi Chavez with musician lyd and dancers Lucy Yim and Mark Kline, the piece makes physical reality out of the ideas of desire, burden and grace. Raw, visceral and psychologically charged movement is matched by a hauntingly beautiful electronic score that will be mixed live. Costumes will be made by Kirsten A. Moore of Piper Ewan, set design by Bill Tripp and lightinng by Dug Martell.

Hope to see you there!

my hierarchy of procrastination

on monday the sun was shining, so i wandered the opposite direction to the mountain to sit under a tree.

on tuesday i knitted, because i didn't feel like making hairpins.

on wednesday morning, i made hairpins to put off going to my studio to inventory garters and hem pants.

on wednesday afternoon, i made garters to avoid hemming pants. then i hemmed pants to avoid making dance costumes.

on thursday morning, i typed on the computer to avoid making flowers. then, i made flowers to avoid going to my studio and drafting patterns.

on thursday afternoon, i made garters to avoid drafting patterns.

today i MUST draft patterns; that was supposed to be done right now.

i write lists and lists in an attempt get everything done. in the past, i would procrastinate by having another cup of tea, running off to happy hour or just staring out the window. now i am procrastinating by doing things that are lower on my list.

recession hairpins

i have been spending quite a bit of time wrestling with myself lately over this idea of the economy, and my lack of place in it. this is nothing new. i have been flying under the radar forever; doing my own thing, not paying much attention, until lately when no one will allow me to leave it alone. it is no secret that my life is a world of feast or famine; i put on the best face that i can at all times. i am always working no matter what, so the so-called ravaged economy shouldn't make too much of a difference, but everyone is talking about it, asking about it buying into it. there was never any question in my mind that the idea of exponential growth and living on credit was totally unsustainable. so is the whole globalization model; i am all for doing as much local trade as possible, but there is a need and a use for international trade. where else would we get our coffee, tea (or the silk and ribbon) that we can't grow in our backyards. it is really a question of balance.

in my own little world, it is all anyone ever asks me anymore: "how is your business doing in this economy?" what does one say to this?

ACCESSORIES: accessories sales have been steadily rising since the economy has been going down.

WEDDINGS: weddings are always steady. i am lucky to have a line of timeless flowers and garters which have always been popular. no matter how many times i think that i will give weddings, i always have a few custom weddings each season. this year, i get to make dresses for friends.

SUPPLIES: the cost of supplies have been going up, with some materials being pared down or discontinued. one of my main suppliers discontinued three-quarters of their colours. this almost sent me into a panic. but then i had to remember that nothing i do is static; there will be new designs and product lines to replace the old ones.

HAGGLING: this has been an unfortunate aspect of my business since the get go, but it has been much more prevalent lately. i suppose i can just chalk this up to ignorance. this runs the gamut from being compared to big box stores or similar products that aren't similar. for instance, my flowers are fabricated completely by hand v. gluing a craft store flower to a pinback. i hand set my swarovski crystals, hand strip my feathers, and hand sew the beads. i have politely explained this way more than usual. there is much more to consider about the cost of an item beyond its price tag. how well is this made? how long will it last? can i fix it?

RISING PRICES: i have done everything in my power not to raise my prices as my costs have gone up. i am holding out as long as possible.

INSPIRATION: i have been more inspired lately to make more elaborate things. another thing i have been finding unsustainable is speed and immediacy. there once was a time when i would go home and check my answering machine for messages. now society and circumstance has me trained to have a panic attack if my phone is more than 3 feet away from my body or i go for more than a couple of hours without checking my email. my work is slow work. it is work of carefully designing garments, and making embellishments from scratch and hand-sewing them on. i like hand quilting and cooking elaborate food and knitting and walking to work and talking to people in person. these are not fast things. we have been taught to be impatient. waiting is a dirty word. in my journeyman phase of learning my craft, i have learned the importance of not skipping steps. it is those little details that make something fit properly, move properly, last a long time, and it is those little details that make things beautiful. but it is also those things that make the upfront cost expensive. but in the end what is more expensive? one thing that lasts a really long time or a lot of cheap things that you throw away after 6 months, because you didn't really like them that well, they fell apart and you couldn't repair them, because they never really fit properly?

so in this swirl of recession talk, i get asked if i have a recession product. and the answer is yes and no. yes, because i had thought that it was important for me to have some little bits available if you wanted to take something away, but couldn't afford that custom gown today. no, because i have always had some version of this for that very reason. we may have to lead somewhat austere existences due to financial circumstance, but that does not preclude us from little luxuries while we save our pennies for a rainy day. i have made hairpins here and there. it was just time to bring them back. i always make them every year. if you see me around town, it is rare that i am not wearing one. usually i end up making several sets for wedding parties, but i don't always have them available for sale. since there has been a demand or them, i am presenting them again. this one is a little rosette, about 1" in diameter. i could have made them cheaper if i didn't use the swarovski crystals in their centres, but they are so much prettier this way. wear one or several. a little spot of colour to make every day a special occasion.

I WANT TO STOP WANTING part one

photo of tracy broyles and meshi chavez in COCOON BIRD by jon springer

in the spring of 2007 i met with tracy broyles of theory1:dance to discuss the possibility of costumes for her production of COCOON BIRD. she arrived with a couple of pages torn from a magazine, a bag full of paper leaves with little phrases written on them, and a list of words. we used this as the basis of the costumes for this performance.

and this spring i have the privelege to work with tracy and meshi again in their upcoming performance of I WANT TO STOP WANTING that will be held at disjecta in portland at the end of april. i watched my first rehearsal two weeks ago, and took notes on the dancers' movements to see the technical needs and limitations i might encounter when costuming the dancers. other considerations are: visibility, the distance between the dancers and the audience, the lighting, the colours of the walls and floors as compared to what the dancers are wearing, how they all interact together, and which movements need to be highlighted or hidden. i love seeing the progression of other peoples' work. and i also like the opportunity to do something completely different than my very focused piper ewan line.

now is the big challenge. i need to work with the directors to come up with a look that best conveys the feel of the piece. unlike FLYING IRON these costumes cannot limit the dancers' movements in any way. discussions with tracy and meshi over tea consist of us trying tossing about words and concepts that will translate into costumes.

tracy and meshi are holding a fundraiser for this performance on friday the 13th; it should be fun:

THEORY 1: DANCE BENEFIT
5 PERFORMANCES
3 CONSCIOUSNESSES
90 MINUTE DANCE PARTY

March 13th, 2009 – 7:30 pm ‘till 10:00 pm
Performances start at 7:45 Dance Party starts at 8:30

Conduit Dance, Inc.
918 SW Yamhill Ave. Suite 401
Portland OR, 97205

Performances by Oslund+Co., Lanie Bergin,
Jen Warnock & M:CM dancers, Woolly Mammoth Comes to Dinner
and THEORY 1: DANCE

DJ Winky Wheeler + Snacks and Beverages

Donations $10- $100

A benefit for THEORY 1: DANCE’S new work:
“I want to stop wanting” Premiering at the end of April at DISJECTA.
Artistic Directors: Tracy Broyles & Meshi Chavez
Composer/ Musician: lyd
Dancers: Lucy Yim, Meshi Chavez, Mark Kline, Tracy Broyles

This project is partially funded by RACC

the process of a custom wedding from start to finish

at the dawn of my eleventh wedding season i have been puzzling over the internal conflict i have been having about doing weddings. my dilemma i had best spelled out to my painter friend after someone asked me how i made my wedding work sustainable. in fact weddings feel like the least sustainable thing i do. i asked him, "what if you were commissioned to make a large several thousand dollar painting that took you six months or more to complete, and the couple put it behind them at their wedding ceremony, hung it over their table at their reception, took all of their wedding party photos in front of it, and then crated it and stored it in the attic. not hung this work in their home, but crated it and stored it in the attic?"

the bride usually comes to me at the beginning. she has an engagement ring on her finger, a date, and maybe a venue booked out. this might be a year before the wedding date itself. she will have in hand a stack of magazines, and her best friend or mother in tow. they will look in wonder at my messy studio. i will have some fabric sample books and paper to take notes. i will ask the date, the time of day the wedding will occur, and what she is looking for. i will ask me how she found me (to determine whether she was familiar with my work). i will ask as many questions as i can to determine what sort of dress she will wear, and whether i am the one to make it for her. i will do my best to focus on her if her friend tries to do all of the talking. i will make sketches, and make suggestions of types of fabrics to use for that particular style. i will ask her what parts of her body she likes and wants to accentuate, and what she doesn't like, and wants the eye drawn away from. i will ask her what she wants to wear under her dress. i remind her that i can do any sort of line she wants that will look flattering to her figure, because i am cutting the dress from scratch. i will pull out my calculator and come up with an estimated cost with different options for different fabrics, and amounts of embellishment. this takes about two hours, more or less. i tell her to mull it over, and give me a call. sometimes i will never hear from her again.

in a day or a week, there will be a phone call or an email. another appointment is made. this time she usually comes alone. there are final decisions made about design, fabric and embellishments. we agree on a price and a payment plan. a contract is signed, and money changes hands. fabric is ordered, or a shopping trip is planned. i take her measurements. we come up with a loose timeline for when particular things will be done; muslin, first fitting, embellishment, hemming and closing, accessories, hand off. maybe i am given a list of bridesmaids who will be contacting me. i hand her swatches and encourage her to start looking for her shoes. we part, i will call her when the fabric arrives or when i am ready to fit her muslin.

i will write myself several reminders in my calendar to begin the muslin. a muslin is a plain cotton mock up of the dress that can be modified until it fits that the dress is then cut from. this involves me drafting a pattern from scratch, or lately modifying something that i already had designed to fit. i will sit in the kitchen at my studio and eat lunch with a piece of paper, a pencil, her measurements and a calculator. i will check and double check. i will draw and cut out the muslin after lunch. i will put the muslin together, and wonder why i thought it would take so long; it usually goes pretty quickly, but i have to fret over it for a few days first.

another appointment is made to fit the muslin. i remind her to bring her underpinnings to the fitting. this is important for the neckline to make sure that her bra or corset doesn't show. if the muslin fits, we discuss the neckline. if it doesn't i mark with a pen and pin the parts that need to be modified. if it is minor, she will sit and wait while i make the alterations, if it is complicated, we reschedule for a few days later.

once the muslin is fit to satisfaction, i will carefully pick the good half of it apart to cut out the dress itself. hopefully, i have all the fabric, lining, thread, zipper and everything i will need by now. i will cut out the dress, and put it together. if i am running behind, i will schedule the fitting before i do this to make sure i finish it to make sure i meet our timeline. if i am on schedule, i will call after i finish this part.

this first fitting usually takes about an hour. i ask how things are going. usually, the caterer has been chosen, the invitations have been sent out, the flowers have been decided on, but she is still looking for shoes and wedding party gifts. we discuss the embellishments. we can both have a better idea now that the dress is on and in front of us. the lines are clear. where the hem falls with the shoes on. if it is floor length, the hem is exactly 1/4" off the floor in shoes so there is no tripping over the hem, and no need to lift up the skirt to walk. the bustle is marked to see how the embellishments will look with the train down and bustled. or if the hem is shorter, pinned so that it will hit in the most flattering spot on the leg. how her necklace looks with the neckline. a double check to make sure that no straps are showing underneath, no weird lines. if there are bridesmaids, we discuss the progress. when will the out of towners be arriving? i remind her to wear her shoes around the house so they are broken in.

then i am left to make the embellishments to pin on the dress. maybe it is a simple obvious placement, or it might be more complicated, and need rearranging. the bride may come in and stand several feet away to judge what they look like from a distance. i pin and unpin until everything is balanced. the dress is carefully tried on. maybe i have to make a little adjustment. i try not to stab her with pins. she will tell me about the inevitable conflict with mother/bridesmaid/aunt who insists that she should do x a certain way. i keep a bottle of whiskey in my desk drawer for these occasions. i continue to work on the last bits and she waits. we talk about hair accessories (i usually make these with the dress embellishment), and who will be bustling her dress after the ceremony. i am very close to being done. just a few more days.

i spend the next while carefully sewing down the embellishments, blind-stitching the lining closed, and sewing on the last finishings: hooks and eyes, snaps etc. i review everything to make sure that each piece is finished: dress, bridesmaids dresses, flower brooches, hairpins, head piece, pocket squares, garters. everything neatly pressed, all threads clipped. usually the night before our last meeting before i go home from the studio.

the final fitting is usually (hopefully) two weeks or so before the wedding. the whole thing is tried on complete with lingerie and shoes. and with promises of later photos, the whole thing is taken away.

i am not sure how many of these i have done; all or a part. more than i can remember, which is difficult to admit sometimes, as i spend so much time with some of these brides. some are friends now, some i haven't seen since the day i handed them their dresses at that final fitting. i have been to many of their weddings. when i started doing this, i never thought i would be making wedding dresses, but there is not much demand for couture gowns in ordinary life outside of weddings. it kind of bums me out to know that i spend this much time on a piece only to be worn once. in victorian times, a bride would wear her wedding dress to every social engagement (to parties and to church on sunday) for a year after her wedding. in my perfect world, one would like to invest that much time and money in something that would be worn and loved over a long time, not just worn once, dry cleaned, shrink wrapped and packed in a box to be stored in the attic. every year i go back and forth about weddings; i don't think that i will ever stop doing them entirely, but i do sometimes fret about spending so much time on something that will be used only once.

(photo by chi essary of my friends dulcinea and jared's wedding june 2001)

wedding randomness part three

this is the wedding of the longstockings who got married on leap day. i went to high school with the bride. we spent years together in french class. her dress is a modified version of my a-line dress (see photo below) with a higher neckline, lower hemline and is decorated with roses.

wedding randomness part two

this is a reconstruction project i did this past spring/summer. i got a call from a lady who had seen one of my skirts on someone at the grocery store. she brought me her mother's wedding dress to restyle:




it was covered in rust stains, and wasn't the most flattering fit on her. we decided to take the sleeves off, change the neckline, lower the hem, add triangle gussets to the sides for a slightly fuller skirt and add surface decorations to cover the rust stains. i used a piece of the sleeve cuff for the headpiece (not pictured). we chose some tulle, vintage net, organza and hanah silk ribbon in whites and creams to make flowers that would give interest, but also blend into the surface as a whole.


the most difficult part of a custom project is trying to relate to my client how the finished product is going to look. at the beginning of a project i can come up with a concept, but the surface decoration doesn't entirely reveal itself until i am actually doing it. balance is important. the placement of the flowers serves to draw the eye up. the challenge is knowing when to stop. i worked with the client to pin the surface up over a couple of days until it achieved the correct balance, and then sewed everything down by hand.

wedding randomness part one

now that it is almost the end of the year, i am going to post all the random custom projects that i have been meaning to put up. there will be a few more in the coming days.

this is a wedding project that i did with my friend nancy davis. she did most of the work, but employed me to make the felt appliques that are studded with swarovski crystals. i did the tux jacket and the birds on the skirt of the dress, she made the bride's dress. this was for a december wedding at a roadside attraction in joshua tree. a little outside of the realm of what i normally do, but once in a while, i like to push myself beyond my comfort zone.

fixing an old friend

many years ago i discovered quilting. i think that if i could make my living this way, i would be a quilter. it is a secret madness, quilting. the constant eye out and collecting of calico (the printed cotton fabric used for traditional quilting) with every trip to the fabric store, and the hoarding of scraps of fabric in plastic bins. i have several unfinished quilts that i work on every now and then resting in a neatly folded pile at the foot of my bed.

about 10 years ago i made the quilt that covers my bed. it is made out of 1930's reproduction prints in bubblegum colours. a very simple design of plain 5" squares. this quilt has seen a lot. it has moved with me through several different houses, it has come camping with me, housesitting with me, it has a little of piper's blood on it from when she had her dreadful tail accident. in short it has been the security blanket of my adult life. it even came with me on my foray into the desert this past summer. it has been a symbol of comfort and home to me over the years.

about two years ago, it started to get holes. just little tiny wear holes in the top, and the binding was worn through at the edges. i decided that it was worth fixing. it all started with 7 red hearts that i sewed over the worn holes, and a binding repair. now it has graduated to 200+ hearts and counting. i sew on new hearts as needed. pretty soon it will be all hearts.

flying iron

earlier this fall, i received a request to make a costume for a performance my friend lisa degrace was working on. i met lisa while making the costumes from last year's production of cocoon bird. she told me it would involve a giant skirt to be fitted over a metal frame. sounded intriguing. we met up a few days later to talk about it in person. the performance involved her crawling into and buckling herself into this skirt that she was to be trapped in until she had to fall out and get back in. she had been looking into ordering a 30' parachute to be somehow fitted to this metal frame that another friend of ours, richard cawley was building. i contemplated how to make this happen. at first we considered a long row of snap tape with a couple of separating zippers and several buckles, but after testing this, it proved to be too complicated for the actual reality of the performance. in the end, we eventually came up with a circle skirt design with a really long separating zipper to attach to the bottom of the skirt and the parachute with a few buckles for added interest.

i made the skirt part ahead of time, and on the appointed day, lisa came with the parachute and the metal frame to fit her and the parachute and the metal frame together into one piece. it was quite the wrestling match to get the parachute through the sewing machine, but we did most of it in an afternoon through trial and error.

photo: brent wear

me: what inspired you to want to be trapped in a gigantic skirt?

lisa: the image comes from two places: one was some work i was doing with my friend meshi chavez on a piece called cocoon bird. i'm not trained as a dancer, so you have to speak in story and image to get my mind around a kind of movement. in trying to get me to weight down my lower body, he told me to envision myself in an iron skirt. i just couldn't shake that image.

the rest is based on images from dreams and my inner life. it's an expression of the feeling of being alone, even when surrounded by people. i wanted my clown's universe to be sort of tiny and vast all at once, and to feel specifically alone.... like no one had ever been there, or at least had wanted to stay. but i had to look kind of glamorous too.... like a very strange fashion model or something.

photo: brent wear

me: this costume is almost the set for this piece. when considering the costume for a performance where the costume is so integral to the piece, what do you take in to consideration about the logistics of your vision, and how much do you depend on your costume makers to help in the actual function of the costume?

lisa: i am very very lucky to live in portland and know imaginiative and creative people like you and richard cawley (who built the metal portion of the skirt). so, honestly, i counted on the fact that you would know all the right questions to ask and things to do if i just told you the concept. and it worked! you had all the right ideas- like connecting the pieces of the skirt together with a sleeping bag zipper (i would have never thought of that one). i had a whole laundry list of obscure things... about how it should sound, how heavy it should be, and, most significantly, that it has to fit as checked luggage on a plane. both you and richard seemd to take each problem as a design challenge, rather than a road block. that was great.

photo: nathan gwirtz

me: you spent some time rehearsing without the skirt and just the metal frame; what changed once you had the skirt to wear and drape over the frame?

lisa: in one sense, nothing really changed... it all just intensified and clarified. the first time i got into the whole shebang....parachute skirt and iron skirt and all, i became almost immediately nauseous! because it was such a literal manifestation of a more figuartive feeling of being separated from the world. so, while it wasn't planned this way, the first thing i worked on the was the end of the piece where (SPOILER ALERT) i free myself of the iron skirt... while taking the entire fabric skirt with me. once I knew i could leave, it didn't make me as sick to be in there.

having it all together DID show me new worlds of possibility... "oh! i can do this! oh! i look like this." i didn't actually get to see what the whole thing looks like in motion until after i performed it for the first time (a friend recorded it). and i have to say.... it looks pretty amazing. i guess when i had thought about the look of it, i had thought about it more in still frames. in motion, it is really pretty trippy and beautiful.

photo: nathan gwirtz

flying iron opens in portland, oregon this weekend:

FLYING IRON
is self inflicted loneliness a blessing or a curse?

the audience sees someone "trapped by choice" in a very small world, an iron hoop skirt contained within a 30‐foot diameter dress. the piece explores the solitude of being alone, even when surrounded by people, utilizing music, movement, costume, text, and clowning.

the show is conceived of and performed by lisa deGrace, with direction from choreographer meshi chavez, massachusetts based director sheila siragusa, and master clown sue morrison. thhe costume was built by kirsten a. moore of piper ewan and metal sculptor richard cawley.

come see FLYING IRON
5 – 7 december and 12 – 14 december at 8pm
performance works northwest
4625 se 67th ave (between se foster and se holgate).
tickets are $10 ‐ $15, and can be purchased at www.brownpapertickets.com
or by contacting lisa at duchessoflevity@gmail.com
reservations are requested!

recommended for adults primarily, and children ages 12 and up. FLYING IRON is funded in part by the regional arts & culture council.

quite possible the best non-cranky bio i have written in awhile

kirsten moore is mostly known for making zillions of flowers out of ribbon, but secretly she is a costume designer. when given the opportunity she dresses people they way they really want to look; maybe how we imagined we looked when we played dress up as children, but in clothes that actually fit. by day she is the proprietor of piper ewan, an independent fashion design company in portland, or.

fox fur collar

sometimes i get fixated on a particular thing, that i must make or find. for the last while, i have been searching for a vintage fox fur collar. i finally found what i was looking for from an etsy seller in canada, zaama. the box finally arrived over the weekend. it is a very plush creamy colour with chocolate tipped guard hairs. after decorating it with flowers and sewing on a new hook and eye, i have been wearing it ever since. it is what i am designing my fall wardrobe around. worn on the shoulders, it goes with anything; sweaters, blazers, winter coat, camisole, lingerie. i feel a little conflicted about fur, so my compromise is vintage. there is something glamourous and comforting about having this around my shoulders. and best of all it is cheering me up.

so much of my life and my business is looking together. being put together carefully. polished. fancy. it has become an art, my art. if you see me on any given day, what i am wearing serves two purposes for me; one is to look professional (since i am in the business of dressing people, how would it look if my dress didn't reflect that?) and the other is to make me feel good. things can't possibly go well if i am wearing the wrong colour or the wrong shoes. i craft my wardrobe to support the idea of my professional life and the ideal me.

there is nothing like hearing people complain all of the time; airing their personal train-wrecks. my pendulum swings the other way. i've been accused of being too stoic; when i have my own financial crisis going on i do my best not to show it, but i definitely am one to fight with myself over self-sabotage. not always knowing when to ask for help, stubbornly waiting for my receipts to come in rather than aggressively collecting them (which makes everything come in slower). everything always works out, right? there is nothing that turns me off as much as seeing people begging for money. i keep going. even when things are really discouraging, through starving, through so many months of getting by the skin of my teeth. there has been so many good things mixed in. i tend to do everything in my power to be positive or at least appear so. i find that having the appearance of being upbeat and successful does me much better than complaining and playing the 'poor me' game. there is no middle ground between being perfect or a total trainwreck/sad sack, and while i am really hesitant to discuss my down days at the risk of not appearing perfect or together, i think that it is too much pressure and a misrepresentation for me to act like everything is perfect in my little world. to be sure, i am not sure about how i have made it for so long, and this month (hopefully) will be no exception, but things are carved so close. but wearing my best clothes on a bad day makes such a difference, and everyone should have their own equivalent of my fox fur collar; whether it is a garment, a piece of jewelry or a favourite pair of shoes.

(this post was inspired by sewphisticate a fellow etsy seller in a forum discussion about how do you combat self doubt? photo by me)

leaving my 'pet' crow

back in the beginning of may i had to stop eating wheat. we had to break up because it just wasn't working for me anymore. in a fit of housecleaning, i pulled all of my open containers of wheat based products: crackers, granola, pretzels, cookies, cereal and emptied them into a brown paper grocery bag with the intention of dumping it in the compost bin. but then i felt a pang of guilt. while a good portion of this food was completely inedible (stale and old) i felt a pang of guilt about throwing it away. the bag was filled 6 inches deep. i went back and forth with myself in my head over whether it would be a good idea to feed it to the birds and squirrels that came to my turret roof to eat the birdseed that i scattered there, and i made my decision. for a couple of days, i threw hands full of this on the roof, but then one morning i just cut the top of the bag off and set the whole thing out on the roof.

a few timid sparrows were the first to visit. then came the squirrels. about a week or two in came the crows. a noisy murder of crows cawing and the choked squawks of the young crowlets drifted in through my kitchen window at promptly 8a every morning. they would fly away quickly if they saw me in the window. then they would perch on the telephone wire and caw reproachfully at me for interrupting their breakfast.

after a month and a half the animals had managed to decimate the pile. i was able to put actual birdseed out again (with a few pretzels for good measure; the crows love pretzels). and i noticed without noticing that the same crow has been coming for the summer. he was a young crowlet. you can tell the babies by their croaky voice. he comes by and is brave enough to approach the window, and leerily peek inside. he is still timid, but he will hang out on the wire outside my window, and we will look at each other for a little while every morning.

now i am about to leave for a week, and my cat is taken care of, but what about my crow. i have grown very fond of this crow, and i would be sad if he didn't return to my roof for pretzels and corn kernels anymore.

(sorry i have no photo, but maybe brent will take one for me when we get back.)