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This was a great dress, it was ruined in such magnificent ways. I’ve been making things with it for almost two years and it still has more to give – transparent silk chiffon, a little more lace and bits of shattered silk - not sew-able but perfect for tiny corsages.
I wish I had spent more time photographing it when it arrived so I’m giving it a last hurrah now – it’s last breath in it’s original form.
I’m not sure exactly what this is. It is old -my guess would be depression era – and it’s home made. The back is shorter than the front and that seems intentional, as opposed to a missing piece – I wonder why.
The fabric is spectacular – wonderful teal flannel with a very fine stripe to it and the color variations where it is faded and worn very thin are shades of soft grayish teal. The little collar is cotton sateen – a fancy little detail on what seems like a plain everyday type garment.
And it had a surprise -when I disassembled it I found the lining was made from a perfectly a preserved printed feed sack .
I started making a songbird with it this weekend. I’ve added a little collection of spring birds and 2 new owls to the shop today.
I love the longer days.
And the little green sprouts in the park.
New Woebegones – from left to right: marcus, honey, dusty and thomas. I’ve just added them to the shop. And new fabric – bits of a quilt that was never finished.
I love the color combinations -I’m going to make some little ships with them. Wholesale -that is what I am up to over here. I shipped off the first order for 2012 yesterday – letty and lou – for BHLDN. Here they are packaged to go. I like the idea of purchasing something from a giant retailer and receiving something so personal and direct – each unique and expressive, each made as if it is the only one I will ever make. Really. That’s the hard part. And the good part. I also like that BHLDN supports and celebrates that idea.
This set will be available soon online at BHLDN - I’m not sure if it will be in stores but I’ll find out. Over the next couple weeks I’m finishing orders for Catbird , Cog and Pearl, and another order for BHLDN – all beautiful collections I’m flattered to be part of. This is not a pace I can maintain for a great deal of time without losing my marbles though. I am still doing everything myself – every label, every package, every stitch, every word, every photo, all the book keeping, and communication etc. etc. The details are endless. My first priority after these orders ship is to get a little help with the stuff I can, should and must have help with.
letty and lou
I’m working on a little group of things – bats and perching owls mostly. I’ll put some of these things in the shop next week – most likely in time for delivery (in the US) before Christmas.
And The winners of the first ever ann wood handmade caption contest ! The voter chosen at random ( # generated by random.org) is:
comment # 15 – Geiger. Who is apparently a black cat with a recently replaced hip.
And for a variety of reasons I have decided to award birds to the top 2 vote getters and those winners ( it was very close) are:
7. Lauren
and
8. Cari
Thank you and Happy Holidays to all participants ! (winners – I’ll be in touch for address etc.)
P. S. - Another first ever for me – I’m going to teach a workshop!! (boat making). I’m something beyond excited about this and plan to go on and on about it next week but you can find more info right now here if you like.
Update: comments are closed, votes are being counted , winners announced later today. ****************************************************************************
Thanks to all of you – a panel of expert judges has, with difficulty, narrowed the field to twelve and a winner will be chosen by your vote. Also, as a thanks for your time, imagination and enthusiasm 2 prizes will be awarded – one bundled up bird for the caption contest winner and another bird will be awarded to a name chosen at random from the voters. Please vote by number (and only once) in the comments section of this post and I’ll announce both winners by the end of the day Friday.
1. patty “Now watch me friends, as I restores this lad to ‘is full strength with Dr. Bulfinch’s Magic Potion!”
2. gayle ortiz
3. Lindsey
4. Jennifer Cheek-Payan “Honest guys, he just fell”
5. Linda Richter
6. Kristin
7. Lauren
8. Cari
9. Brian GadgetSponge
10. Shelby Medina
11. Polly Anna
12. Janet Wilson I spent the larger part of the day packing and shipping things – that will occupy about half of tomorrow too. I secretly enjoy it.
Today was mostly birds and tomorrow larger things – ships. Later this week I’ll post my very inexpensive but effective method for shipping large -ish fragile things – so check back if that’s of interest.
And just for fun – a caption contest! A while back Lisa of a thread from the edge suggessted a caption contest. I think it’s a brilliant suggestion and if you check out the comments to this post you can see some of her caption ideas – so funny and perfect. And a prize! A winner will be chosen by a yet to be determined method - either a vote or a panel of expert judges and the best caption gets their very own bundled up bird!
Everyone is welcome to participate – just create a caption for this photo and leave it in the comment section:
(you can click the image for a larger version if that helps you with your captioning) A winner will be chosen next Wednesday 12/14. I’m busy working on new birds and ships and boats - I’ll add them to the shop this Thursday. Here’s a preview of a couple new things:
Please join the mailing list at my shop if you would like an email when they are available. I can hardly believe I’m included in this book – it is magnificent in every way. I think Olivier Dupon has created something very special. In less expert hands this wealth of information might have been overwhelming or the spirit could have been lost but Olivier presents it with simplicity and real elegance – you are never distracted from the central idea: that this is a book about love of craft, process and materials or Olivier’s true affection for the subject. Find the book: http://www.thamesandhudsonusa.com/new/fall11/551585.htm on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-New-Artisans/108346249261751 Olivier’s blog: http://dossier37.tumblr.com/
“This book captures the new mood – a return to a preference for the unique and the handmade. Design expert and acclaimed blogger Olivier Dupon has sourced the cream of the contemporary design world from all over Europe, Australia and the United States, profiling 75 artisans who use craft techniques, rather than mass-production methods, to create stylish, whimsical, covetable objects. Hundreds of colour photographs feature a huge variety of crafts, including art, ceramics, furniture, glasswork, jewelry, lighting, metalwork, papercraft, textiles and woodwork. Complete with a directory of products, and Dupon’s personal recommendations for inspiring shops and websites to visit, this is the perfect resource for discovering unique and beautiful objects made by new, talented artisans from all around the world.” This antique gown arrived a while ago. I think it’s Edwardian but it was definitely reworked at some point - it has fasteners and hardware and repairs that were added later. I guess it has had many lives.
The peach silk is almost all shattered, it’s torn, stained and many of the seams have let go but the gauze, sheer silk lining and lace are still strong. First I’m making a bird.
*update:
The dark things collection begins appearing today with owls. ( I don’t trust the little one on the right). |
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