Gold & Amethyst

As a goal for my Fashion Week showcase, I made myself get good at repeating the process and refined the rules that make the design strong as well as interesting.  Trying usually equals succeeding, and in this case, “usually” is eliminated.  I can make, enjoy, and repeat, and not have to think about it all the time any more.

Gold & Green

I had THE BEST TEAM to work with and I feel like I really lucked out. There were at least four people from Salon Intuitions who worked really hard on this collaboration, and the main contact, Stewart, made sure everything was taken care of. The team planned and executed a mini-fashion show that included my hair accessories done up with their excellent styling on a top-notch group of models. They gathered treats from a variety of great sponsors, including the incredibly popular photo booth, and made sure the items were nicely presented. They even made up some sweet goody bags and organized a raffle of special gift baskets.  And, they made me feel very welcome and appreciated.

These days, no night is complete without delicious cupcakes.

To be prepared and organized on my end was the best way I knew to help make sure the night ran smoothly. I made as much inventory (new designs as well as classic sellers) as I usually do for holiday and two-day shows, but, since I was set-up in a hair salon, I got to focus some of that making-time toward my bridal and special occasion hair accessories. That was really fun and a great excuse to finish some ideas that had been in my head for a while. We had several meetings at the location which allowed me to plan and visualize the use of space and flow of traffic, so my display tweaking skills were in full force ahead of time (no duct tape necessary, for example). Joe was with me during the entire event, too, and he’s pretty skilled at setting up my work, helping with any problem-solving, and packing things up neatly. And keeping me mellow. I also kept in mind the event would be over rather quickly, so if traffic was slow or I felt awkward, it would all be behind me soon enough.  And if it was busy, that was a good thing.

It looks a mess because people couldn't keep from touching!

It was busy and it did go by rather quickly. A couple of good friends arrived right away and more came throughout the night. That helped so much in keeping me from floating away mentally. The salon peeps were organized and in good spirits, making it a really fun environment in which to be working. The models were lovely and wore my sparklies very nicely down the runway and around the salon. New shoppers who appreciated my work were definitely in attendance, and I could not be more grateful.  I love when people squeal when they see something on my table.  It makes me feel like The Fonz just walked in, only it’s a bright pair of earrings they haven’t seen anywhere else that I made. I even met a local shop owner interested in putting my items in her location. That’s like The Fonz hitting the jukebox to make the music start—magical and unexpected.

New design right in the middle...more on that later.

Long post short, I will participate in AFW next year.  Definitely.

Reclaim is located in Southwest Austin at 6001 West William Cannon near Escarpment, on the West side of William Cannon in the Legend Oaks Shopping Center, Building 1.  They are open Tuesday – Saturday from 10am – 7pm, Sunday from noon – 4pm, and are closed Mondays and some holidays.  They can be reached at (512) 382-0382, but you really should just stop in.

Or attend their upcoming event…

Shop, Swing, & Swig: Free Concert Event at Reclaim

Saturday, August 14th from 6 – 9pm

Featuring Live Music from Town Hall Devils and Acid Beach!

Discount shopping, artisan booths, drinks, giveaways, and more!

Join me and many other Austin artists at the Mohawk on Wednesday, June 23rd from 6pm to 10pm.  There’s a different band or DJ every hour, food from local sponsors, and drinks by The Mohawk, of course!

I’ve made blogging a somewhat regular habit, though, and it feels important to me for some as-of-yet-unidentified reason to keep on keepin’ on.  More on that later, I suppose.

If I’m not too unsure of putting my feelings into written form.

And I’m especially flourishy that day.

Maybe.

My lust for the subject paired with my knack for working with hand tools created my very first tiara.  That, and a conversation with my cousin (Hi, Jill!) about one-of-a-kind versus generic-and-gross weddings.  Over the years, I’ve found the exploration of the subject using materials I could afford and tiny work spaces I was dealing with to be quite satisfying.  I can honestly say that my tiaras are unique and totally of my own design.  They’re inspired by what I’ve seen, but they’re built using the resources available to me and with my own way of crafting.  I love the unique architecture that goes into a tiara–so delicate yet strong, so over the top yet completely purposeful, and so many, many ways to personalize.

Recently, I was contacted by a bride-to-be asking if I could make a piece for her very special day.  She wanted a hair vine–a long, wire-twisted tendril with beads and sparkles, usually wrapped or pinned through a more loose and natural hair style.  She saw my work in my Etsy shop and thought I might be the right person to attempt her wish.  She emailed me the one tiny picture she had of what she was looking for and a description of her overall goals for the end product.  The inspiration vine was silver with clear or white glittery pieces and some tiny leaf- or feather-like adornments.  I did a little research to find more pictures of the same or similar hair vine, but didn’t discover much.  I knew I would have to invent my own way of doing it anyway, so I just kept the tiny picture in mind and tried to focus on my own vision.  We were communicating completely by email (she lives in Brazil), so we clarified and solidified details, I set a time line to keep our communication clear and moving, and I started in.

I located a few silver leaf-shaped bead options for her to choose from (she picked my favorites) and gathered some round, white pearls, clear Swarovski crystals, and quite a few feet of 26 gauge sterling silver wire.  Having never made a hair vine, I was a little nervous, but I got over it pretty quickly after doing a few practice lengths in junk wire.  I found that reshaping the leaves made for more graceful lines and kept the spacing of each small shoot off the main vine a pleasing and consistent distance from the next.  It took a few hours to get the whole 15.25 inches completely wrapped and another 30 minutes to tweak each tiny tendril into a more organic and flowing line.

I am pleased with the results and, most importantly, the bride was ecstatic!  I sent her some pictures to approve before officially posting it to Etsy, and all of the sentences in her reply ended with exclamation points.  She’s going to send some photos of it in action, which I can’t wait to see.  I’m tickled that I made my first hair vine as well as completed my first online custom bridal piece.  I can’t wait to do more!

First, the vendors:  Not only did I work with some really great people, I also got to work surrounded by really great people.  There was so much creativity in that room!  Any time I got a chance to talk with a neighbor or visit some of the other booths, I was greeted with an artist’s smile, not a pushy salesman.  Everyone who traveled for the show was grateful to be in Austin, and everyone from Austin was proud and welcoming.

Second, the place: Set-up and tear down couldn’t have been smoother, with my boothmates being extra exceptional with the carrying and the lifting and the sharing of the jobs to be done.  The event organizers were smart in their scheduling and the actual location was made for just such craziness (dollies, ramps, loading docks, parking, giant doors, etc.).  Since there were around 200 booths, there were at least 400 people moving about the place.  Totally smooth, no drama.

Finally, but most importantly, the shoppers:  These were of a kind I’ve never seen in that many numbers before.  It seemed like everyone was cool.  Not only the trendy types, but generally interesting and cool Austinites as well as handmade admirers.  Oftentimes, the people watching at events is very entertaining, in a not-so-nice kind of way.  This show was full of my and my neighbors’s target audience.  Full!  So much love!

Thank you to everyone who came out!  And special thanks to April, Maggie, and Stephanie for being wonderful crafters, excellent business women, and all around awesome people!

Now, off to Louisiana for a much needed break with Joe, my family, and one fun event after another!