by MissMalaprop on August 31, 2010
It’s been quite awhile since I’ve done a Picked By You! feature. If you like this series and want to see more, please send me your picks! Details on how to contribute are at the bottom of this post.
Ola, aka Musicboxgirl, recently purchased this FreeForm Crochet halter from WildChildDzigns on Artfire. She says, “having never purchased crotchet clothing before, I just bought a beautiful halter from WildChildDzigns. It’s like an abstract painting, to me, and I get to wear it. It also looks comfy.”
Ola makes musical jewelry and accessories inspired by her love of antique-style music boxes. Check out her work at My Secret Music Box, or learn more about her at her blog, Plucked Pins.
Do you have an amazing handmade or eco-friendly shopping find (made by someone other than yourself)? Send it my way! You can email me a link to the item, one or two sentences about why you think it is so special, plus your name and a website/blog link so I can credit you, to mallory [AT] missmalaprop.com and let me know it’s for Picked By You!, or you can post your picks in this thread in the Etsy forums or at my Facebook fan page. Designers, while I definitely encourage you to let me know about your own work as well, please note that Picked By You! is to showcase the work of other artists, so show some love for your favorite fellow artisans!
by MissMalaprop on August 13, 2010
The lovely Bonnie of Going Home To Roost is a successful crafty businessperson in her own right, and now she’s sharing her expertise and experience with others. She’s just announced a new 7 week e-course called Selling the Handmade Way. In Bonnie’s words, “It’s for beginner/intermediate sellers of handmade goods to learn more about their indie biz and how to make a name for themselves.” The course starts on September 6th, and in it, you’ll cover everything from product photography to website SEO, all while taking a very hands-on, personal, workbook style approach to learning and growing your business. For a taste of what you’ll learn, Bonnie has also issued a FREE e-book to go along with the course. (Anyone can download the free e-book, and if you like what you find inside and want more, you can sign up for the course.) You can find more info on the course and a link to download the e-book at Selling the Handmade Way.
Plueys, the super stylish indie rainboot company, is hosting a fun contest via their Facebook page. They’re accepting your rainy day photos, now through September 28, 2010, and winners will receive new unreleased Limited Edition Plueys rainboots. Sound like fun? Head to their website for more details.
Check out the cool art, seen above, by Lynne Mori, a Long Beach, California based artist who specializes in small, postcard-sized, mixed-media collages. I like this piece, titled EL BANDOLON (the mandolin). Find more of her work in her Etsy shop or on her website.
Looptworks is a great new sustainable fashion line for men and women that takes the leftover, excess materials from big fashion companies and creates new garments from material that would otherwise be thrown away. They’ve also got some cool accessories, like laptop sleeves made from excess wetsuit materials. Personally, I’m a fan of this Ningxia Cowl Neck top – I love a great cowl, and this looks so soft and comfy for fall! (I love the colors it comes in too!)
by MissMalaprop on July 25, 2010
My wonderful boyfriend took some fabulous pictures last night at Worn Again NOLA 4. More pictures can be found on my Flickr photostream.
Congrats to all of the talented designers, and to the winners: Best in Show – Meghann Harney, Best Professional – Veronica Russell, Best Amateur – Antoinette de Alteriis, and Honorable Mention – Cely Tapplette-Pedescleaux. And let me say, honestly, it was so hard to pick winners, and even to pick the top 10 designers – there were some we really duked it out over last Saturday during the judging process. Everyone did such an amazing job, it was hard to pick winners!
My personal favorite was this Top 10 dress, designed by Kendra Morris. Dave got into a bidding war during the silent auction, trying to get it for me for my birthday (which is Wednesday, July 28). We lost, but I appreciated the effort! This dress is gorgeous! Although I have to say, I’m glad I finally got some photos of the dress I wore to the event, which is my Horizontality Dress by Ureshii.
Congrats again to all of the winners! This event is always a lot of fun, and it always helps to benefit a great local cause, this year Press Street.
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 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.
by MissMalaprop on July 8, 2010
Check out my Couture du Jour submission over at lillyella today:
I’ve had my eye on this skirt from
Trashy Diva practically since it came out, and when I decided I wanted to make an outfit to submit for this Couture du Jour series, I knew I had to include it. I’ve got a big ol’ blog crush on
lillyella lately – I love the Couture du Jour series as well as the
“on top of your day job” series. (Side note: I originally wanted to pair this outfit with the navy pinstripe
wedges from TOMS, but they’re already sold out! Alas…)
