Chicken & Costumes

Another morning of waking up early then heading downstairs for some waffles and eggs.  After breakfast the group headed to our first meeting of the day.  First up was Nobland.

Nobland is a New York based company that develops fabrics and garments for other companies.  Some of Nobland's clients include: Alex Wang, Target, Kohl's, and many more.  Nobland is a product development company that not only manufactures garments for those brands, but they also make their own prints.  Many times Nobland will manufacture a print specifically for a certain brand and it's not until the small, high-end brand sees it that they may tweak the print and produce something for the mass production companies.  The next stop after Nobland was...Pink Chicken.

Pink Chicken!

Y'all, I finally made it to Pink Chicken!

For those that don't know, Pink Chicken is a childrenswear company in New York that came about when Stacey Fraser first started selling her handmade items in her hometown of Amagansett, NY.  Their main retail source is online, but Pink Chicken does have 4 brick-and-mortar stores: 2 in New York, 1 in Los Angeles, 1 in Charleston.

I first learned of Pink Chicken when I started researching various childrenswear companies, since I want to pursue a career in childrenswear.  I also discovered they have internships!  I learned all this information long before I knew we were going to Pink Chicken on our tour, but after visiting the company I feel like I could see myself there.  I honestly don't know if personally I could live in New York, but working with great people like Paige and Christina at Pink Chicken and learning the ins-and-outs to the children's industry would be awesome.

The style of Pink Chicken clothing is always going to be breezy and bohemian.  Pieces that are very easy for mom and baby and kids.  Paige and Christina said they can pull inspiration from anywhere, but they mainly love to look to vintage fabrics and wallpapers.  They love to reinvent vintage prints and sometimes even invent a few of their own prints.

The environment in Pink Chicken was so calm and inspiring.  Even though there were only about 5 full-time employees and 1 intern in the room, you could tell that everyone loved their jobs.

Paige and Christina talked about how they have pieces from each collection, going all the way back to the very beginning, and another unique thing is the wall of pictures is made up of pictures they used from their booth at various market shows.

After Pink Chicken, we headed to Jeffrey.  First off, let me say that Jeffrey is located DIRECTLY across the street from Diane von Furstenberg's flagship store!  Yes, I freaked out a little bit A LOT, when I saw those lips on that building!! Fan girl moment!  

So on to Jeffrey!  Jeffrey is not your typical high-end flagship store.  Jeffrey was started by a former shoe seller who realized that with his connections he would be able to open a store carrying all the high-end brands for his customer.  You can find Prada, Yves Saint Laurent, Comme des Garçonne, Louboutin, and many more.

I also loved seeing the unique designs that were in there.  I especially love this "cape" below that looks like a bunch of vinyl steering wheels.

Our final meeting of the day was at a costume shop called Izquierdo Studio.  There are very few employees at this costume shop, but the work they produce is amazing.  They've done pieces for various Broadway shows and ballet companies.

These next two pictures feature prototypes they've done of a couple of Heidi Klum costumes.

Izquierdo Studio is also famous for their wing work.  They produce just about all of the wings for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and they have even produced wings for various pageant contestants.

This case featured dolls with small scale versions of VS costumes.  That way they can get the logistics of the costumes figured out before they produce the actual thing.

Learning the ins-and-outs about Izquierdo Studio was very interesting.  They truly look to provide high quality work and it's like a little family there.

That night, we went to dinner at Benares, an Indian restaurant.  This was my first time ever eating Indian so I was excited, and the food did not disappoint!  I will definitely be eating Indian again.  The picture below is of the beautiful light fixture in the restaurant.

Two days of meetings down, one more to go.  It's definitely been a great experience getting to go to all these companies and see behind-the-scenes and make connections.  Talk to ya tomorrow!

Back At Last!

I know, I know, yet again I have neglected my dear readers.  This past school year was a lot, though.  This was the year that I created my own 6-piece collection and showcased it at my school's annual fashion show.  More on that after I talk a little about some projects I did before all that!

First up is this adorable little pair of overalls I made for a friend who had a baby boy in October.  His name is Finnley and he is the cutest thing ever!  The pattern I used for his overalls was Simplicity 2459.  I found this cute plaid on sale for an awesome price when I was still working at Hancock Fabrics.  I used bright orange buttons on the sides to pull out the orange stripes, I did turquoise buttons on the inside where the straps secure, and this was also my first time ever using snap tape.  While I haven't become best friends with the snap tape, I must say it wasn't that hard to work with.

I believe I made these overalls in a size 12 months, so that way he would be able to wear them when he's a little older and possibly still be able to grow into them.  As another special gift for Mr. Finnely, I made a custom embroidery hoop for his room.  I found out his nursery was done in vintage airplanes, so I chose to do that for his hoop.  I love making personal gifts for people, and this piece was a big hit with mom and dad!

I was on a big hand embroidery kick at the time and was making embroidery hoops for a lot of friends.  Like this hoop I made for one of my best friends at school.  She is a huge Beyonce' fan.  Enough said. Lol  Needless to say she loved it!

In addition to my embroidery kick, I had gotten into cross stitch.  I had never cross stitched before, but started with some cute patterns from The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.  I you love cross stitching, and have not experienced all the kawaiiness (cuteness) of The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery patterns, then you are truly missing out!  Being that I was a first-time stitcher, it was great that their patterns are easy to understand, easy to follow, and explain everything so clearly.  I think I had already bought 2 patterns when I decided to buy their Woodland Sampler to stitch up for a friend who loves anything woodland.

This pattern is a 12-month one, which means it originally came out as a block-per-month.  In total I think it took me about 3 or 4 months to stitch it up.  I was on a mission to have it finished as a Christmas present for her.  Once I had it stitched up, I decided to make a cute little pillow for her...because y'all, she has a real pillow addiction!  For the backing of the pillow and as a little border around the front, I used an awesome batik cotton I found at fabric.com.

Well, now we've made it to 2015.  Spring semester!  The semester of the fashion show!  For my collection, I chose to do a little girl's line.  I've discovered that that is what I want to do with my life.  Be in the childrenswear industry, whether as a designer at a company or have my own line.  I will also be doing a little girl's line for my senior collection.  Before I get too much into my collection, though, I must show off my dress I made for my school's Pantone Cocktail Party.

We were told to come dressed as a Pantone color of the year, and I chose 2001's Fuchsia Rose.  For my dress I used New Look 6143 and the fabric is a stretch cotton sateen I got on sale at Fashion Fabrics Club.  The polka dot tulle I found at Joann's.

My friend Hannah, pictured with me, also made her outfit.  She drafted the pattern for the top and skirt herself.  She went as Pantone's Emerald of 2013.  

This picture is a great representation of our friendship. Lol

Now, at this point it was just a few short weeks to the fashion show.  All garments are complete, we're finishing up accessories, and preparing for our jury presentations.

As part of the junior class requirements, we had to make every single piece of clothing, and any accessories we used had to be made by us or altered significantly in some way.

My collection name is Lil' Miss RockaBetty, and it is for little girls 3-7 years old.  My inspiration was the 1950s Rockabilly culture, that is still prevalent in today's time.  I wanted each piece to be cute and functional.  All my fabrics are 100% cotton.  My 6-piece collection included:

1. a peplum top with a pair of stretchy denim jeans

2. a dress with pleated skirt and 3/4 length sleeves

3. a two-tone gingham skirt with a sleeveless top

4. a polka dot sleeveless top paired with gingham shorts, feat. removable suspenders

5. a sleeveless polka dot dress with red pearl snaps down the front

6. a cherry print romper with red pearl snaps in the front and adjustable shoulder ties

My accessories included a picnic basket I wove with gingham ribbon and I made a gingham liner for it.  I made pinwheels, a reversible hair tie, a purse I covered in fabric-inside and out, and a headband featuring giant cherries I made from styrofoam balls and paperclay.  I also made a cherry necklace from small styrofoam balls and paperclay.  The piece I love the most, though, is the cherry purse I made.  I used brown circular boxes that I cut and covered in vinyl, glued together, and lined with gingham.  I also cut out some foam leaves and added a brown leather cord strap.

I am so pleased with how everything came out and my little models made each piece even more adorable.  These little girls are so stinkin' cute and I am so proud of them!  It was so great seeing a collection that I produced go down the runway and I can't wait until next year for my senior one!

Well, that's all the updates I have for now.  You won't have to wait months to hear from me again, though.  May 30th I'm heading to New York for a week with other girls from the fashion department at my school and our Fashion Dean.  It is our required travel trip through the school, and as part of the class we have to blog daily about our time there.

So, next time you hear from me I'll be updating form the Big Apple!  Until next time y'all!