Upcoming Silk Painting Classes at Ornamentea

Kim Kirchstein, of Leopold Designs, creates BEAUTIFUL hand-painted silk scarves, sarongs and clothing. We love her work here at Ornamentea and are so proud she'll be teaching classes in silk painting right here at our store.

Learn about Kim's silk painting classes right here

Kim's work was recently featured in the Redress Raleigh Eco-fashion show. This timelapse video makes me really wish I could be back there, sitting in the front row to watch all those beautiful clothes and accessories parade by. Work by other Ornamentea favorites, including Mood Swing Studios, Zass Designs and Claudia Corletto was also shown that night.

this is a snap from the show catalog, showing Kim's work (with that Mood Swing jewelry!)

Learn more about the Redress 2014 Fashion Show, including the designers featured, right here.

I love this video...

not the least for the fashion ideas...but also these (British) ladies seem like they'd be so much fun to spend an afternoon with.

Favorite quote: 'Don't wear beige, it might kill you.'


Note: the original, full length video was removed from YouTube by the producers. The link above is now to the trailer and there is a link there where you can watch the full video on the producer's site. Sorry for the confusion!

Tees from Tiny Peepers

We started carrying these sweet Raleigh acorn tee shirts recently from Tiny Peepers. I love the bright green acorn on the blue shirt. I think I need one of these to wear with a jeans skirt and some neon pink tennis shoes...

I'm not much of a matcher.

(the shirts aren't available on the site but you can call to order or stop in to try one on...)

Hannah Goff at Belks

Ornamentea alum and NCSU grad Hannah Goff has torn up Charleston Fashion Week and now a quartet of her dresses are available at Belk. Yep, our home-town girl is doing great. The collection features mixed prints in very wearable and girly shapes. I haven't tried any on yet but I can't wait to twirl the Fit-n-Flare dress. That print calls to me.

Visit the Belk page here. Do Hannah a huge favor and use the Belk 'facebook share' button right there on the left hand side. Show her off to your friends!
Visit Hannah Goff's site here for more photos of her current work. That photo above is from her site.
Read about her work at Charleston Fashion Week where she was the Featured Designer. This link has amazing pictures.

Hannah Goff

Hannah Goff, an Ornamentea alum, was in Daily Candy today. Check out the article, here. She's got a print-centric collection that makes me swoon just a teeny bit.

P.S. -I made this, a shoe-redo!

I have written here before about the glory that is P.S. -I made this. That fab blog is filled with super cool ideas that you can make. I especially love this shoe dress-up idea from an April post. Hmm...now to go fix up last year's wedges!

(hey, click that link above to see the original post, it's awesome!)

Atami Necklace featuring kimono cording...

 

see the full directions and how-to photos here on our tutorials page

Create a floral headband

Rosette Barrette Tutorial

check out this new tutorial for Rosette Barrettes
we got extra fancy and did a video AND wrote up a printed version...
cause we are that nice!

enjoy!

Traces at NCSU's Gregg Museum

A new exhibit opening later this month at the Gregg Museum of Art & Design at NCSU has me very excited. Traces is an invitational exhibition with works by some of the most engaging artists currently working in fibers of all kinds. Featuring sculptures, assemblages and amazingly dyed or woven creations this exhibit promises to be one of the best of the year here in Raleigh.

There is a symposium on March 24th - 26th where textile art and craft will be discussed, tours of related exhibits will be offered and the state of textile craft will be debated. If you are an artist working in fibers of any kind this symposium is not to be missed. If you are a lover of contemporary fiber arts and interested in taking your own work, whatever that may be, in a new direction the weekend should be very stimulating. Visit the Gregg's page for more information or to register. I will be there.

Regretsy, when the usual handcrafted gift just won't do

One day last year a friend sent me a link to a site called Regretsy. I clicked on the link to see some vagina jewelry featured. Or maybe it was a chicken sweater or knitted tampon cozy. I don't remember, it is all a funny blur. The very funny Helen Killer (April Winchell) selected the very best of the worst on Etsy and featured the items on her site. Tampon earrings. Vampire wedding couples made out of clay flowerpots and glued-on pom-poms. She skewers the very oddest, the worst, the craziest in Indie Crafts on post after post. The site is not to be read at work, or with your children, or with anyone who has thin skin. The crafters that are skewered often sell their work fast to hipsters who purchase the oddities to hang ironically on their living room walls or (in the case of a few wearables) to don for their ironic wedding photos.

Before you think April Winchell is evil, she is a person who admits to loving the weird. She also admits to making wicked fun of people who forget to use spell-check, who make something in 5 minutes and want to sell it for $100 and to people who glue pipe-cleaners and plastic sequins on old cheese graters and call it Steampunk.

Now there is a Regretsy book. We got the book in and I browsed through it and laughed but I have to admit I didn't read it cover-to-cover. I did bring one home, because that is exactly the kind of book I want to have in my living room. One evening I was leafing through the book looking for design inspiration and I saw that a print that I have (unironically) hanging on the wall of my studio is featured in the book.

Now, exactly what is odd or humorous about a bowl of brussel sprouts and doll heads, I ask you?

You can get the book here. It is very funny and would be a great gift for your favorite etsian.

A special offer on our new tee

Wear this tee and show the world your love of handmade! Printed for us by Progressive Graphics, a Raleigh company that we've used for years, this bright red tee is printed in white lettering on the front with the Handmade 4-eva slogan and on the back says ornamentea.com in discrete white letters. Wear this when setting up for your next craft show!
Click here for sizes, price and a special offer.

Time for fall clothes, really...

Okay, tell the truth-did you drag your winter clothing boxes out this past weekend? I did. Out came sweaters, long-sleeved shirts and some dresses I forgot about but really like. I unpacked socks, scarves, and two sweaters. I packed away most of my sleeveless shirts and bright-colored linen skirts. I couldn't pack them all away because I AM GOING TO THE BEACH NEXT WEEK. Oh, sorry, did I shout that? Anyway, after I did my boxes I pulled down the girl's boxes and went through their clothes. Away went most of the lightweight sundresses, tee shirts and shorts. Our house is small and we (all four of us) share the one clothes closet* so we have to do a seasonal shift. I stand in the closet every morning, somehow without my family knowing where I am, looking over my clothes and figuring out what I will wear that day. It is peaceful.

So I pulled down the boxes and found some nice surprises. Shoes I forgot. Those dresses I love to wear. A pair of jeans and a scarf I forgot about. Even the girl's clothing was a pleasant joy. Somehow my 7 (almost 8!) year old can wear just about everything from last winter. I am jealous. She has a big wardrobe of dresses and leggings and jeans and tee shirts and sweaters. The 4 year old always has way too many clothes between big sister hand-me-downs, friend hand-me-downs, grandparent gifts and the inevitable purchases that I make to account for her slightly different taste than big sister or to fill in the gaps. My girls both have interesting styles of dressing; big sister is good at matching odd items and she comes up with new outfits that surprise me on a regular basis. Little sister wants sparkle and twirl and she does NOT mix-and-match. If a shirt 'goes with' a skirt they must be worn together. Every time. Since her wardrobe is 99% hand-me-down this means that the outfits usually are composed of items that didn't originally match each other. She decides that one shirt and one bottom are a set and they just are. And she remembers it.

I am much more like older daughter. I mix things up differently almost every time. I sometimes stand in my closet and think 'wait, what did I wear this skirt with the last time because I liked that combo...' I read once about a woman who would take a polaroid of herself in every outfit and put them on a bulletin board in her closet so she could remember what she liked to wear. Aside from the shock at having a closet big enough to hold a bulletin board, this idea seems to me like it would rob me of those five minutes of peace, standing in the closet and figuring out what I was going to wear.

So, did you pull out your warm clothes yet?

*honesty compels me to admit that we do have two walk-in closets in our house but the other one holds mostly craft materials. A family has to have priorities.

Monday Kid's Classes at Ornamentea

These are from the first in our series of Monday Kid's Classes at Ornamentea. This class meets September 13th or October 18th from 3:45-4:45. Participants in this class will make up to 5 interchangeable resin pendants that they can attach to a choker-style necklace using magnets. This is a big trend in accessories for the tweeny set now: changeable necklaces. Sign your 7-11 year old up today by calling 919-834-6260. Class fee is $15 and includes all supplies and use of our tools.

See more details here. Other classes for crafters of all ages can be found here.

Oh, the projects can be tailored for girls or boys! Crafting is for everyone!

Fall Fashion...on an 85 degree day!

photo from Style.com

Tweedy, horsey, New England-ish....Fall fashion, almost every year, is completely unwearable in North Carolina until, oh, November? It's hot here. We can wear our summer clothes (maybe in darker colors? or with boots?) for months after the Northern Gals have donned their velvets.

But still...I grew up in the Midwest. Late AUGUST nights can be chilly. September often requires tights and sweaters. Ahh...it seems like a mythical land right now with the cicadas humming outside my window and a watermelon growing in the garden that I will harvest in September. Summer is not going anywhere. I don't really want it to go anywhere, honestly. I am generally quite happy to enjoy the heat and sun EXCEPT that I really want to wear that curvy purple velvet jacket. It's romantic+shaped+purple! Mmmm...I can skip the camel trousers, hip-length slim jackets and high-laced leather boots. They're lovely, but would be a bit comical on me.

Yes, I know there are also loads of soft, sheer floral dresses this fall. And 50s big skirts and fitted sweaters.  I can and will wear those (shh, I already have a bunch of them in my closet!) At least, I will wear them after it cools down...after that watermelon has been picked & the leaves start to turn. In November.

What about you...can you wear fall clothes in the actual fall?