by MissMalaprop on July 25, 2010
Party Girl by Joy St. Claire - Maggie May the dog
Jen Kiaba posted the sweet story of a friend and her dog, who has had a lot of medical complications recently. Check out A day of Joy, from Maggie May the dog and see what you can do to help this sweet pup and her owner!
Check out Crissy’s tips this week on Fall Marketing Ideas, Vol 2 over at Indie Biz Chicks.
Designed by RJ posted her favorite guacamole recipe this week. I’ve been a little guac obsessed lately! If you’re a Louisiana local and love guac, be sure to check out Rouse’s store-made guacamole. It’s spicy and delicious!
Oh, and watch for pictures from last night’s Worn Again NOLA 4 recycled fashion show coming very soon!
by MissMalaprop on July 23, 2010
The Worn Again Fashion Show is tomorrow evening! I just drew a winner for the mini-giveaway – it looks like my special VIP guest for the patron party will be Abby Van Deerlin! Congrats Abby! NOLA.com and the Times-Picayune ran a piece on the event today and you can get a sneak peek at some of the designs. (Please note the top image – the dress by Kendra Morris was one of my personal favorites and the necklace the model is wearing is one of my friend Heather Macfarlane’s fused glass pieces! Seriously though, I couldn’t stop gushing during the judging process about how I wanted that dress for myself to wear!)
TOMS just released new styles and colors for fall, including these super cute cranberry colored wedges! I’m sick of summer heat – bring on the autumn days already!
I was just recently listening to an old episode of the Craft Sanity podcast with an interview with crafty celeb Debbie Stoller, who is one of the founders of Bust Magazine and author of the Stitch N’ Bitch books. She was talking about her background as a feminist and wanting to tie in traditional crafts like knitting and crochet into that idea, paying tribute to these amazing traditions, passed down by our grandmothers. The whole discussion reminded me of an organization I recently got an email about: Krochet Kids. This group is currently working in Uganda with war-affected women to provide them a fair and consistent income for the first time in their lives, through their crochet work. These ladies make things like hats and laptop cases, and inside each one, you can find the signature of the lady who made it. You can find their goods for sale online at www.krochetkids.org and at select Nordstrom stores starting this fall.
Morelle is closing up shop to move to Australia and pursue new opportunities. I got a beautiful, amazingly well made leather handbag here as a Christmas present to myself earlier this year, and I highly recommend checking out the selection of bags that are still left. The shop will be closing in 10 days in preparation for Katie’s move, and some bags are reduced down to 70% of their original price!
Peachypan is also closing up shop, after 3 years, so that owner Fee can pursue her dream of being an artist! Everything in the shop is 50% off, so check it out for some adorable Japanese inspired tsumami kanzashi hair oranments at deep discounts!
by MissMalaprop on July 22, 2010
I was recently contacted by PrintRunner.com, an online printing company, who offered to do a giveaway for 4 sets of 250 500 business cards! I know a lot of you have your own businesses and creative endeavors, so I’m guessing many of you use business cards to promote your work. [Update as of August 2, 2010 - I just got word from the folks at PrintRunner: "We are running low on coupons for 250 business cards, so we've upgraded the prizes of the giveaway on your website to 500 business cards per winner." Awesome!]
One question I always ask when I’m looking at companies that do printing is, do they offer recycled paper and greener printing options? I was of course happy to hear that PrintRunner is committed to greening their business practices. They offer a lot of recycled paper and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper options, and they have eliminated petroleum based inks, and use only vegetable-based inks for their printing. You can find out more about their commitment to environmentally friendly printing practices here.
Here’s what’s up for grabs: there will be 4 winners, randomly chosen, who will receive 250 500 business cards each. Here’s the technical info on the cards:
- Premium 14 pt. card stock
- Durable, water resistant UV-coating
- Choice of glossy or matte coating
- Full color, B/W or blank back available
- Rounded corners available
The cards, of course, can be printed on recycled paper. The winners will be able to pick this option by choosing the 100% recycled paper option on the dropdown menu on the right side of the page under the “Paper” option on this page.
To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment here and let me know why you need business cards! Post your comment by midnight on Friday, August 6, 2010 (Central Standard Time – go here to figure out what time that is where you are).
The winner will be chosen at random from the comments. Please use a valid email address, as that’s how I’ll be contacting the 4 winners. (I won’t share it with anyone, I promise!) If you are chosen as one of the winners, you must respond to my email within 1 week from the date I send it, or an alternate winner will be chosen.
Official Rules:
- One entry per person
- Open to U.S. residents online
- Must be 18 and over and not an employee or relative of an employee of PrintRunner LLC
- No purchase necessary
- Shipping not included
PrintRunner.com is a Southern California-based online printing company that has established a reputation for providing high quality printed products at affordable prices with superior customer service. The company offers a wide array of printing services in addition to custom business cards, including full color brochures, flyers, posters, stickers, professional design services, and more.
by MissMalaprop on July 21, 2010
Hey Saints fans! For those of you New Orleans Saints lovin’ ladies who want to show your team spirit this upcoming football season, but don’t dig the oversized jersey look, check out the new collection of mini-fleur vintage inspired dresses from Trashy Diva. Available in 5 different styles, this new print features sweet little fleur de lis on a field of black, perfect for the fanciest of black-and-gold Who Dat fans!
by MissMalaprop on July 20, 2010
Mandy Besek is an artist who (in her own words) creates “cutesy scientific illustration inspired fiber art wall hangings.” I’m a big fan of pretty much anything that merges the worlds of textiles and traditional art, and I love Mandy’s use of bright colors and nature inspired imagery. Seriously, if I had to pick a favorite piece of hers, I don’t know that I could choose – I love them all! Check out more of Mandy’s work in her Etsy shop.
by MissMalaprop on July 19, 2010
Worn Again NOLA Jury 2010 - me, David Dartnell and Kim Martinez
I spent most of the day this past Saturday sitting on the jury for this year’s Worn Again recycled fashion show, which takes place on Saturday July 24th at The Howlin’ Wolf. I’ve participated in all 3 of the New Orleans Worn Again shows so far as a designer, winning an honorable mention for my designs in both 2008 and 2009, and this year I was honored to be chosen as one of the 3 judges, along with David Dartnell and Kim Martinez. David is a talented local designer and Kim is an Emmy-nominated costume designer, so this was a huge honor to sit alongside them!
The event serves as a fundraiser for local charities, and in the past three years, Worn Again has managed to raise nearly $20,000 for Recycle For The Arts. This year, Worn Again will benefit Press Street, which promotes art and literature in the community through events, publications and arts education. The show is always a lot of fun – you can see some pictures from previous years on my Flickr stream.
me at Worn Again NOLA in 2008
You can purchase tickets ahead of time online here. General admission for the main event, which starts at 9:30pm, is $15, or you can purchase tickets for the exclusive Patron Party + the main fashion show for $50, which includes Hors d’oeuvres & cocktails plus an advance preview of the Top 10 WORN AGAIN designs and a silent auction and live entertainment. Both ticket choices also include admission to the infamous Recycled Dance Competition and afterparty.
As one of the jury, I have tickets to the Patron Party – I ended up getting three tickets. So it looks like I’ve got an extra ticket, and I’ve been wrestling with who to invite. Normally I’d just invite Ashe Mischief, but she’ll be working at the Shakespeare Festival at Tulane that night. SO… my boyfriend suggested I host a little contest to see who should be my special guest for the evening.
If you want to be my special VIP guest for the Worn Again fashion show + Patron Party, here’s what you should do. Leave a comment here, letting me know why you want to come. You must be free to come to the event next Saturday night, July 24, 2010, obviously, and you should also be in the greater New Orleans area. (It’s just a ticket to the event people, I can’t exactly fly you here! If I could, I would… But I can’t.) Post your comment by midnight on Thursday, July 22, 2010 (Central Standard Time). I’ll choose a winner randomly from the comments and then email you to work out the details.
