The seasons change- at least where I am in the Northeast- and every year feels like a shedding of the old and emergence of something fresh and delicate yet strong. We’ve had a very brutal winter with snow, cold, war and killings on our own streets. Creation feels like hope and belief in the future. I have many new projects starting and I’m looking forward to meeting with my different clients and designing clothes for them to honor their individual inner strengths.
I ended the old year before our magical trip to Europe by making a white lace blouse for a very beautiful bride. The time was short or I would have loved to dress both incredible women for their wedding ceremony.
Claire and Katie Jo at their wedding at the Chelsea Hotel. Lace tunic blouse with shoulder button closure photo: Elvira Kalviste Photography
Claire and Kati Jo at their wedding at the Chelsea Hotel. Lace Tunic blouse with shoulder button closure. Pants by Schiaparelli. Photo by: Elvira Kalviste Photography
We looked at a lot of laces before finding this one at Mood that resonated with Kati Jo. She loved the leaf design and also the weight of the fabric- not too delicate.
I have saved a bag of scraps of beautiful fabrics that I hoped to use one day- leftovers from client projects. . .too nice to throw away. coming back to the studio I went through all my fabrics and made a jacket out of 2 disparate plaids. After cutting them out from an old pattern and pinning them on dress form- it really looked like they would not coalesce. I unpinned and went through all the other possible combinations in my bag. After this process didn’t yield any results I went back to the original idea and though the 2 fabrics have very different fiber content and texture, they did somehow blend beautifully.
Cotton and wool plaid composite jacket- leather buttons
First client dress of the year- Navy wool flannel with embroidered shadow box design - modified ruffle collar
on to dress that was envisioned many months ago for client- a Turquoise silk faille that the client found at B&J Fabrics- She requested that the piping match a pair of shoes that she plans to wear with the dress- Still in progress
the piping fabric is very dense and hard to make into cording. I love the rich oxblood color and the buttons that we already had are an unexpected touch for traditional cheong-san details
I looked at many traditional knots and fashioned ones that the fabric would accommodate and that also complimented the dress.
The rich burgundy color seems to be a theme- silk velvet top (out of scraps) and silk scarf
wool suit with silk blouse for client - fabric from Mendel Goldberg
embroidered and distressed denim vest and skirt - pleated silk blouse - fabrics from Mendel Goldberg
Continuing the remnant theme- dolls I made for the grandnieces at Christmas
Before going out on New Year’s Eve-
Drawing inspired by the mosaics at Borghese Palace in Rome
Thank you for visiting!! Hope to have lots more to show you as projects unfold 🙏🏻. Be creative - And use your voice and heart ❤️
the little ones are watching!
Niece Ellison and grandniece Ayla - will be 2 in June