lost sketch

This little sketch of Dorothy and her ruby red slippers was missed from my last post (it wasnt finished)...

top five friday. red things.

Top Five Friday this week is Red Things. Here goes my short short list:

5. Ruby Red Slippers. The ones that Dorothy on the Wizard of Oz wears. I think they would be even more fun to wear than gold shoes.
4. Ladybirds. So cute. I am particularly fond of the one on my emboidery.
3. Red car. I have a red car. Yes its red, has for wheels and I can drive it.
2. Red Lipstick. So so right for winter. Now to find the perfect shade.
1. Red Camper Shoes. I was given a pair for my 21st birthday. I still wear them alot!

Stay tuned for next week's top five friday!

spot the knitting.

It is a little concerning, when your knitting and your choice in furniture, start to look the same. My flatmate picked up this neat retro rocking chair on Trademe a week ago, and our little flat is staring to look a bit more homely. I have knitted nearly my height in scarf now- I started it only 4 weeks ago (I am knitting at the rate of one ball per week- if I don't I won't have my scarf by the time it gets seriously cold.) so am aiming for serious progress!

I'm thinking that there are two types of knitter- big needle and little needle knitters. The big needle type are more 'means to an end'. The result is soft and chunky knitting that takes a relatively short period of time. The little needle type (myself included) is more focused on the process of knitting. The knitting that comes from this is at a tighter tension, and has fancy stitches (see yarnstorm for gorgeous examples). When I was at uni doing my art papers, we learnt about process as an artform, or using the processes of creating the art as an element of an artform. Slightly pretentious, yes. But it can make your work more interesting, for example I have been following the development of Julie Knoblock's interactive painting- its not just about the painting, its about the contributions and how they are realised in the artwork. Interesting and fun.

Anyhow I am gearing up for another Anti- Procrastination Craft Weekend. I have one main goal- to finish (now annoyingly unfinished) scalloped neckline top!!!

odd post

Hi, no comment box on last post. Don't know why, but will figure it out!

PS. All sorted now. deceivingly simple solution! :)

introducing...top five fridays!

Because I am one of those People Who Like to Write Lists, I have decided to do a weekly Top Five Friday list, just to make my life more interesting. I find those Hot or Not type lists in magazines fascinating, and once designed a fashion collection at uni based around the whole idea (I used an arrow motif, of course).

I'm going to kick this off with a list of my Top Five New Zealand Fashion Designers (and subsequently try my hand at The Fine Art of Fashion Writing). I suspect that over time these lists will get weirder and weirder though...

Ok, so counting down..

5. Nom*D. This brand is from cold cold Dunedin, and their dark and edgy knitwear reflects this. They are always reliable for putting on a bit of a show at Fashion Week. My favourite collection from this brand was from a couple of years ago (I cant remember the name), and featured a blonde model wearing a hat. The clothes were then wrapped around the model (they had a video) about 10 times. Very cool.

4. Kate Sylvester. What I like about Kate Sylvester is that she is just so likeable, as a person and as a designer. Another really consistent name in NZ fashion. My favourite recent collection to date is last winter's Stop Your Sobbing range with the ikat style tear-drop print skirts. If I could have brought, I would have brought.

3. Zambesi. These guys have been on the NZ fashion scene for about 20 years and have been amazingly consistent. I did work experience for them a few years ago, and although there was a lot of handsewing involved (the mainstay of fashion work experience anywhere) I still have a lot of respect for them. Zambesi make the type of clothes that you can pull out of your wardrobe 5, 10, 15 years later and still be able to wear.

2. JimmyD. What I like about this designer, is how the collections are structured. The image below is from a collection that is based around layering over a leotard and leggings, which is a really nice way of working, and not too dissimilar from how I would do things myself. In Autumn/Winter 2006 he did a cobwebby collection with very cool cut-out leggings (I am a legging fan from way back).

Image from JimmyD.

1. Cybele. This is my new Number 1. I'm convinced that she cant really do any wrong. I think that the clean lines and graphic shapes are good good good. I think I like her work because her aesthetic is quite close to my own, and that her clothes, when you put them in an everyday context, can be quite wearable.

Image from Runway Reporter.

Now.. what to list next week...!

the haints are playing

The writing on the picture is a little tiny, but The Haints of Dean Hall are playing on...

Friday 18 May- Arc Cafe, Dunedin with Anji Sami
Saturday 19 May- Harbour Light, Lyttleton with Brian and Maryrose Crook (the Renderers)
Wednesday 23 May- Wine Cellar, Auckland with Steve Abel
Saturday 26 May- Happy, Wellington with Bonanza

See you there.

karma, karma.

All- righty! This morning I checked my blog to find that I had been tagged by Lara from Kirin Notebook. Basically this whole tagging business works a little like those chain letters you used to write when you were 12 (without threats of curses or 7 years of bad luck- I hope!).

Basically you get tagged, tell the world 7 random facts about yourself, and then pass the love onto another 7 unfortunate victims (I think this is the hard bit...)


So here is my list:

My favourite colour is red. I like it because it is so strong, but so so simple. Straight to the point.

I used to really really love Star Wars. Yep, I was mad on it. As in geeky mad. I had the look too (Mad hair and glasses) Nowadays I still think that the old- school Star Wars is the best... and I still think that Han Solo, Yoda, and Ewoks rock :)

I still think that it would be awesome to be a rockstar. Instant gratification. Visual arts and design is a little slower than a mad crowd.

I made my first dress when I was in kindy. Despite my rather obvious career choice after this early decision I can still count the amount of dresses I have made for myself on one hand.

My surname is a talking point. And strangely enough, even though I get a little tried of the jokes, I kind of like it. Its handy for a fashion label... then I can do slogan tees that say "THATS COOL McCOOL" :)

I once gave up learning French. For accounting (in the even that I should own my own business..) I still regret it.

I really don't like bus fumes. This is a little ironic as I bus to work everyday, and that each bus removes about 30 cars from Aucklands roads. But the fumes are awwwful.

Ok, seeing that I don't know too many people on blogger still, my list will be shorter than 7 people. I don't think that its fair to tag a blog that you only lurk on. So passing the love on to... Julie, Annalaura and Renee.

A is for Anna; A is for Auntie.

This is the first stage of designing a pendant for my jewellery class. We were briefed to design a monogram pendant, that had areas that were subset from the main piece of silver. For a while I was thinking about not following the brief by creating a cloud- like design that dangled from a corner. However I changed my mind as I explored variations on a simple hand-written 'A'. Thankfully I love typography! :)








To develop the template that I am using I put my hand- drawn 'A' through Illustrator, which gave me a nice clean line to work with- it has helped me save time in the long run as I could go straight into cutting the template out in copper- which is where I am at with the development of this piece
I found it quite interesting to see what my classmates has come up with... strangely I was the only one who has decided to the monogram idea (by then I has decided that it was kinda cool, and was liking my ideas). There were more than a few koru style designs. And I am definately thinking that 'this jewellery business' is going to be a positive contribution to my life.



This girl made an appearance in a notebook of mine at work as I worked on a pattern....unfortunately not of this dress!

Must go. My knitting in its mustard-y yellow glory is beckoning. And a cup of tea too! :)

i am thinking...

I am thinking I might alter that ring I made- resize it and engrave "Auntie" on it...in a fancy, slightly old-fashioned font. Then I might actually wear it.

This jewellery business is potentially creating a monster. I am also now wanting to create a fashion and jewellery range that works together for my portfolio. Very, very tempting.

I am also listening to an excessive amount of Jakob's first CD Subsets of Sets. Very good. I think I shall suport this great band from my hometown and buy one of their other CDs.

look at what I made.

Yesterday I completed my simple silver ring at the jewellery school. It was a little bit of a struggle to complete it, so I am kind of proud that I have managed to create something out of metal. I chose to leave it with a brushed finish, rather than a high polish finish, for a bit of interest (my other rings are high polished, but time tarnished). However, its a little too tight for my finger...

I am now working on a monogram pendant- more about that later! But I am starting to get ideas about future projects, which is good- theres nothing like fresh creative inspiration! :)