This is not an outfit

I love the weather right now. What has made it more perfect is that it rained for three or four days this past week and cleared the air. I am one of those nerds with allergies, so I was grateful for that.

I've been outside a lot.

I'm also trying to get back on the Singer. I had taken a long hiatus due to an unreasonable fear of sewing. I suddenly became self-conscious about my abilites after a few small failed projects. Today I modified a vintage skirt, and it was only a partial failure! I'll have to ease back into the whole thing. And on a more practical note, stock up on thread.

P.S. -- When I went to Manhattan at the beginning of the month, I wore the above shoes and apparently got several double takes. I was surprised -- I expected New Yorkers to be less phased by gaudy footwear. Am I crazy for thinking that?

etsy live!

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to see Rob Kalin, the founder of Etsy, speak at The Grace Street Theater here in Richmond. I heard about it on The Storque, and was very excited because it happened to fall on a day off, and right before I went to NY. I had no idea what it would be like, but let me tell you...

First of all, it was not just Rob. Matt, from marketing at Etsy, was also there, along with the head of the crafts department at VCU, the head of Quirk Gallery here in Richmond, and none other than Arthur Hash, one of my hearted Etsy sellers. It was an awesome set-up.

Rob talked at length first. He happens to be very well-spoken, and I found myself getting caught up in a major way. He is unbelievably only 28, and seems like one of those people who never gets tired, haha. The way he talked about the crafts movement was so romantic! How so much is disposable these days, and handmade gets back to the time when each object had a story and a personality behind it. He really believes that there is a limit to how far the current big box trend can take us, or even the gallery system. And when asked how he will keep Etsy from becoming just another behemoth corporation, he talked about keeping Etsy like a school of fish -- seperate individuals who come together to make a big impact, rather than the corporate standard Borg-like "We" (he had a lot of analogies, loved it).

Having the board of people was excellent because there was some really great dialogue about buying handmade online. The point was brought up that it seems strange to buy such a tactile thing as craft online, where all you can see is a picture. But Rob countered with the sentiment that I think a lot of people who shop online share -- that everything leading up to the point where you actually unwrap your package and hold what you have bought is like foreplay!

There were some neat statistics I learned too. 96% of Etsy buyers and sellers are women, which made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Rob talked about the opportunity for growing small businesses among women, which I loved. I think it's amazing how easy they make it for people to sell their stuff online, and without charging ridiculous fees. This was a point of difference with the gallery system, where there could be up to a 60% commission.

After the lecture I was floating on a cloud (bear with me all friends who have heard this ten gazillion times already). I already loved Etsy, but the experience made me love it even more. Rob was very up-front about how Etsy is always a work in progress, and there is room for improvement and growth. Matt said they are also working on developing the Shop Local feature more, which is a wonderful idea. I'm so glad I went, and I feel bad for the people who attended the Virtual Labs and couldn't hear the lecture because of technical problems. Hopefully they will be able to do another similar talk elsewhere (with better internet reception).

There is so much more I could say, and it was really hard not to describe every minute detail. And now I can't wait for Renegade! Viva la Handmade!

cleanliness is next to dogliness

My dog is into handmade too. One day I came home from work and saw this:


I have this bad habit of draping my clothes over something instead of hanging them up in the closet, so he pulled it all down and made a nest for himself. I learned my lesson, as there was alot of laundry-doing and lint-rolling that night. Obviously I thought it was funny more than anything, but I'd rather not have to worry about that again...

warm shoulders

I wanted to put up a few pictures that make me happy. It was gorgeous outside, and with the possibility of staying that way, so to celebrate I wore a tiny dress and sunglasses and walked as much as possible. These were a couple of the things I saw whilst outside.

One of those forgotten joys... I saw at least three of these.

I walked to a little market down the street to get lunch, then ate on my front porch. Later, I went to check out an apartment with my sister. The thing was an enormous one bedroom that was amazing, with old fireplaces, eleven foot ceilings, giant wooden sliding doors, and the amenities I like (dishwasher, utilities included, off-street parking!).

I still don't know about the price though, as I would love to be able to set more aside in savings for a house. I also have this problem of falling in love with apartments and imagining all of my stuff inside before I even think about my other choices.

I'm working on some new items for the shop as well. More on that later!

sew close, yet sew far

I'm always looking for fabrics that are colorful small-scale florals on a dark background. I didn't think this would be such a hard thing to find, but apparently it is, much to my dismay. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place. I mean, of all the cotton calicos out there, why is it so elusive? Well, I got a small glimmer of hope when I spied Luella Bartley's Spring '08 collection a few weeks ago.



This is exactly what I want! In addition to the coveted fabric, I love the other references. Giant nerd glasses, Batman, and Ghost World, plus the multi-hued Doc Marten-looking boots. Wowzers. I've really been into masks lately too, I don't know what it is. I'm thinking about making one so I can wear it like a headband, or a cocktail hat.

Anyway, in my fantasy the Luella collection sets off a great demand for floral-on-black prints, and bolts of it flow off the shelves at generic fabric stores like Joann's. We'll just see about that, as the fashion world appears to be in winter mode again (Fall/Winter '08 already? Really?). It's not even summer yet! Why must we be talking about wool and knits when we are just beginning to think about short sleeves in the real world? I tell ya.

saturation

I feel so busy lately, but not very productive for all of that. Despite the annoying fact, I have a few things to be happy about.

Number one! I have finally posted the aforementioned necklaces in my shop. They really reflect how jazzed I am about color right now. I am digging the hot pink, expect more of the same down the road. The ribbon has pretty much always been a part of the MischaLee vocabulary in the context of packaging, but now it's pushed its way into the designs. Which I am perfectly pleased with.

Number two! Another one of my creations, the Lolly necklace, is also online right now, which I am really excited about. I did a batch of them for a French client, who just put them up not long ago on her own webpage, Mademoiselle Urbaine. She gathered items from artists and designers she liked for her page, which is incredibly amazing. It's all in French, but you should check it out regardless. I'm so flattered to be included! *blushes*

Number three! I got a belated birthday present from my in-laws, which I feel juvenile for being so into. But... it's a Blythe! I had been wanting one for so long, and the crazily large variety of clothing and accessories for her makes me rub my hands together with excitement. It's a bit ridiculous, but she has an allure that you can't deny, which is why there are so many people who photgraph her, like Gina Garan. Look at this one she took:
That's a lot of je ne sais quois for a doll, you have to admit.

Other than those big things, there are a handful of smaller joys, such as issue 6 of Lula, Girl Scout cookies, tax returns, and blooming flora. Sweet.

a day in the life

Well folks, it appears that I am a year older. And with this birthday, I decided on a new initiative -- to make the day a special one from now on. This might seem a strange thing to say, but for me it's a big deal. Let me tell you why.

For the past few years, for some nonsensical reason, I've thought, "I will work on my birthday, and I will not make an effort to have fun." Then inevitably, at the end of the day, I would be pissed off that my birthday was so crappy. Does this make any sense? No. I don't even know how to explain this behavior really. It's not like I was deliberately trying to make it bad, it just always happened because of my careless attitude. Perhaps it's related to my aversion to being the center of attention. Who knows?

That's all behind me now, let me tell you. I plan on being selfish and carefree from now on, like normal people. We're turning over a new leaf here. With that said, let me tell you about my Monday.

I slept in and then dressed thoughtfully, deciding to wear my Frye booties that I hadn't worn yet. Cary took me out to lunch at Jason's Deli, which is sadly sort of fancy for us. After a leisurely shopping excursion, we headed over to Salvation so I could get my first tattoo. My friend Phillip stopped by to watch the spectacle, then we all went out to get some drinks. After drunk-driving home (not really), my sister made me the most delicious dinner, complete with hors d'oeuvres. It turned out to be a great birthday!

In unrelated news, I have recently found two artists that I really like. I read an article about Kristin Baker in Vogue, and fell in love with her paintings. I'm head over heels for color, and the way she uses it is delicious. Also, Jacob Magraw, wow. The way he uses color is also phenomenal, and I really dig the sinewy texture in a lot of his pieces. Seeing art like this makes me want to paint again, even though I know I will never have the same kind of talent there.