tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40196257015415458862024-03-13T21:14:57.555-07:00Evolution of DesignBreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-82786936581911349492010-11-13T16:26:00.000-08:002010-11-13T16:26:10.731-08:00Fashion's Night Out - Milan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Thursday, September 9th was the 2nd annual Vogue Fashion's Night Out in Milan. I love that I've gotten to experience the event in NYC as well as Milan. Fashion's Night Out is the brainchild of Anna Wintour, Editor of Vogue, who thought it would be a great way to get people excited about fashion and shopping again after a rough downturn in the industry during the recession.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I attended the events in Milan around Montenapoleone area which is the high end shopping street. Guests were able to shop and browse while enjoying a free drink and snacks in many of the stores. In some, the line to get a glass of champagne was ridiculous. People love free drinks! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Highlights of the night: seeing the shoppers' outfits of course! They were more toned down than the ones I saw in NYC, but that fits Italian style. Shoes especially: there are still cobblestone streets in Milan which means stilettos are a risky choice. It was fun to see Armani in person too. I actually enjoyed walking through the Valentino store which was surprising after the intense Valentino project last semester (which I'm wearing in the last picture!). My favorite shop of the night was <a href="http://www.maisonmartinmargiela.com/">Maison Martin Margiela</a>. Amazing designs, shapes, footwear, etc. The shop itself was even cool because it wasn't right on the main street. We found it tucked away behind some bushes and walked through the gravel front entryway while a DJ was spinning. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/TNl7aAmygJI/AAAAAAAAAVg/YPZuboR8AP8/s1600/IMG_0398.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/TNl7aAmygJI/AAAAAAAAAVg/YPZuboR8AP8/s320/IMG_0398.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Angela and Marico at the station</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/TNl7eX7TOnI/AAAAAAAAAVk/84CX7x5qMpU/s1600/IMG_0403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/TNl7eX7TOnI/AAAAAAAAAVk/84CX7x5qMpU/s320/IMG_0403.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Live shoe models in a shop window modeled shoes on their hands and feet</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: auto;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/TNl8aDd0oqI/AAAAAAAAAVw/EQ3pr2bx9ug/s1600/IMG_0410.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/TNl8aDd0oqI/AAAAAAAAAVw/EQ3pr2bx9ug/s320/IMG_0410.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Giorgio Armani broadcasting from his own store</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/TN8jYoibDoI/AAAAAAAAAWI/ZYD7ak3CVmw/s1600/IMG_0407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/TN8jYoibDoI/AAAAAAAAAWI/ZYD7ak3CVmw/s320/IMG_0407.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">In the Armani store - she's being interviewed... but I'm not sure who she is. I think I saw several famous Italians that night but I didn't know who I was seeing!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/TNl8iQlcywI/AAAAAAAAAV0/KqvFIrG79xM/s1600/IMG_0411.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/TNl8iQlcywI/AAAAAAAAAV0/KqvFIrG79xM/s320/IMG_0411.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A woman hand knitting ties in a shop window</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/TNl9uLcYLRI/AAAAAAAAAV4/kWmtkKiCVHY/s1600/IMG_0416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/TNl9uLcYLRI/AAAAAAAAAV4/kWmtkKiCVHY/s320/IMG_0416.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Angela in front of the crowd</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/TNl_gEFb3uI/AAAAAAAAAV8/q_nqfXYJTII/s1600/IMG_0426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/TNl_gEFb3uI/AAAAAAAAAV8/q_nqfXYJTII/s320/IMG_0426.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Moschino window was eye catching</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/TN8jR4X2gTI/AAAAAAAAAWE/hSO1OBV5uXo/s1600/IMG_0418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/TN8jR4X2gTI/AAAAAAAAAWE/hSO1OBV5uXo/s320/IMG_0418.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Live models in Versace - I loved this one because she looked like a mannequin</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/TNl8U8IBKoI/AAAAAAAAAVs/_YK8Zha7OvU/s1600/IMG_0406.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/TNl8U8IBKoI/AAAAAAAAAVs/_YK8Zha7OvU/s320/IMG_0406.JPG" width="206" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Fashionnnnn</div><div><br />
</div>Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-62312980352375020462010-09-24T13:23:00.000-07:002010-09-24T13:23:24.224-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm starting my year abroad in Milan, Italy. I will be studying for my 5th and 6th semester at Fashion Institute of Technology through a program at Politecnico di Milano. FIT has a full program at their Bovisa campus. I chose to study abroad because of the amazing experiences offered, the chance to learn about fashion from a different perspective, and in hopes of learning another language.</div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Practicing Italian gestures before we leave NYC</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the Alps during my flight. There are some mountain tops visible from Milan far in the distance.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Angela unpacking in our residence hall room. It's a nice facility but I'm ready to be in an apartment!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Certosa Residence - the one window with the shades up is our room.</td></tr>
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Like I've seen in several big cities, the people of Milano are generally in shape. The lifestyle of walking everywhere and eating very fresh foods without preservatives is wonderful. I still have a hard time understanding how they manage to eat brioche every morning and yet maintain their figures...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cappuccio and brioche for breakfast</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Needle and thread near Cadorna Stazione. It represents the transportation lines of Milano but I think it's fitting for representing fashion around Milano.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Navigli canals in the southern part of the city. Pretty area.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standing in front of a little covered area connected to the canals where women used to wash the family's clothes</td></tr>
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Across the street from the residence hall where I will spend my first month in Milan, there is a supermercato. I got this picture but got caught and scolded when I tried to take another shot of a can of "Prin-goooaaals." Soccer (excuse me, futbol) is serious business here but fotos at the supermercato are not allowed. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/TJzw2nMefPI/AAAAAAAAAUw/hxb8_D8lUSk/s1600/IMG_0154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/TJzw2nMefPI/AAAAAAAAAUw/hxb8_D8lUSk/s320/IMG_0154.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tomato sauce? Yeah, we have that. <br />
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</tbody></table>Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-17566797653139752572010-02-08T21:06:00.000-08:002010-02-08T21:06:33.199-08:00The World through Kids' Eyes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Luggage room was at a premium when I went home for winter break from school so I couldn't bring back good kid gifts. Instead, I took my friend Kandy and her boys, Brandon and Dillon, to the <a href="http://www.sciowa.org/">Science Center of Iowa</a>. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3DkPorp5RI/AAAAAAAAAS0/A3kDWFnqeac/s1600-h/IMG_4303.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3DkPorp5RI/AAAAAAAAAS0/A3kDWFnqeac/s320/IMG_4303.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Kandy, Brandon, Dillon</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3Dj9Gz8gSI/AAAAAAAAARs/GB1ZcBxFlRA/s1600-h/IMG_4281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3Dj9Gz8gSI/AAAAAAAAARs/GB1ZcBxFlRA/s320/IMG_4281.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We did all sorts of exploring - watching a ball roll along roller coaster tracks</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3Dj-JzO26I/AAAAAAAAAR0/B0KmLhIyfTc/s1600-h/IMG_4287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3Dj-JzO26I/AAAAAAAAAR0/B0KmLhIyfTc/s320/IMG_4287.JPG" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tugging a rope strung through pulleys to lift a large tire</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3Dj_7tkZyI/AAAAAAAAASM/UH00vp_rlZ0/s1600-h/IMG_4293.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3Dj_7tkZyI/AAAAAAAAASM/UH00vp_rlZ0/s320/IMG_4293.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Watching balls travel through a maze of fans and obstacles</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3Dj-_8XWkI/AAAAAAAAAR8/PuOOPUlCIqM/s1600-h/IMG_4288.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3Dj-_8XWkI/AAAAAAAAAR8/PuOOPUlCIqM/s320/IMG_4288.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">There was a small replica of a cave in the Iowa nature room. The boys were a little scared to go into the dark cave and they really didn't want anything to do with this (fake) bat! I told them it wasn't real, but Brandon informed me that since it was making noise, it had to be real. I didn't bother to point out the speakers playing the noise. Later Brandon said the cave was his favorite part of the trip. :)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3Dj_QK_jaI/AAAAAAAAASE/BIUmBJHQOcI/s1600-h/IMG_4289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3Dj_QK_jaI/AAAAAAAAASE/BIUmBJHQOcI/s320/IMG_4289.JPG" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Kandy's favorite part was the (real) snapping turtle! He's friendly and comes up to greet you through the glass hoping for treats.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3DkA0QjZjI/AAAAAAAAASU/NmSh1NMuslE/s1600-h/IMG_4296.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3DkA0QjZjI/AAAAAAAAASU/NmSh1NMuslE/s320/IMG_4296.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Watching the pendulum. Due to the Earth's magnetic force, it naturally swings to one side enough to knock over a peg every five minutes.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3DkYHR2YlI/AAAAAAAAAS8/JiTtgUV4AKk/s1600-h/IMG_4306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3DkYHR2YlI/AAAAAAAAAS8/JiTtgUV4AKk/s320/IMG_4306.JPG" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The staff at the center were great with the kids. It helped that we went during a blizzard so there was a lot of individual attention! Brandon got to pet a box turtle and when Dillon touched a wet salamander, he said it felt like soap!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3DkEH3ofJI/AAAAAAAAASc/Jga7kSMuzW8/s1600-h/IMG_4299.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3DkEH3ofJI/AAAAAAAAASc/Jga7kSMuzW8/s320/IMG_4299.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Oh those dimples!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3DkcfVHewI/AAAAAAAAATE/XPVonRuaur4/s1600-h/IMG_4310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3DkcfVHewI/AAAAAAAAATE/XPVonRuaur4/s320/IMG_4310.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">This is always one of my favorite parts.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3DkuLQzXoI/AAAAAAAAATU/Eyfhz7QTgWg/s1600-h/IMG_4311.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3DkuLQzXoI/AAAAAAAAATU/Eyfhz7QTgWg/s320/IMG_4311.JPG" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">The bubble area was fun. Color inspiration for a pastel line in the near future...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3Dk8PdjwFI/AAAAAAAAATc/J43vC-S7nVw/s1600-h/IMG_0447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S3Dk8PdjwFI/AAAAAAAAATc/J43vC-S7nVw/s320/IMG_0447.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Self portraits on my iPhone. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">We went to Under the Sea, an IMAX movie, while we were at the Science Center. Kandy wasn't sure how the boys would do since they haven't really done movies in theaters. This was a short documentary film with beautiful cinematography of underwater life narrated by Jim Carrey. The theater surrounds you like a dome so it feels like you are really IN the movie. I told Brandon and Dillon that there would be loud noises, but they don't have to be scared. Well... as soon as the movie started with the loud music and overwhelming visuals, Brandon said (loud enough for most people there to hear), "I never even wanted to come here!" Oh, I about died. Great, my gift will be remembered as that scary place that Bree took us. Ha! Dillon was quiet, but he had a death grip on his chair because he felt like he was falling out since the action felt like real movement! Brandon thought the titles were coming straight at him too. We got through the initial fears though, and surprisingly, when scary sharks and fish snapped up others as a quick meal, the boys jumped but didn't seem too scared. I was impressed. Brandon asked a couple times when we could go home, but amazingly they made it through the movie!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Overall it was a really fun day and pretty exhausting for someone not used to full kid-speed! The boys discussed the good stuff on the way home (maybe they'll block the bad memories of the scary movie!) I was glad to spend some time with them.</div>Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-19396332870543854902010-01-31T18:39:00.000-08:002010-01-31T18:39:10.064-08:00Wicked BeautyConjure an image of a beautiful but wicked ice queen and you'll be on the right track to imagining winter in Iowa. In December of 2009, Iowa got more snow than they had seen since the 1800s. Rough start. While I was home there was a blizzard, an ice storm and more snow. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2Y7ZyJndvI/AAAAAAAAARM/yeCFpa9-pgs/s1600-h/IMG_4250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2Y7ZyJndvI/AAAAAAAAARM/yeCFpa9-pgs/s320/IMG_4250.JPG" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Pine trees in the back yard after a melt-fog-frost combo froze. It wreaked havoc on power lines causing major power outages around the state. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2Y7SwYnjWI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/DV7wZyjNLkI/s1600-h/IMG_4246.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2Y7SwYnjWI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/DV7wZyjNLkI/s320/IMG_4246.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Storm likes eating the snow while she's outside. Keep going girl, maybe we won't have to shovel.</div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2Y7cabOsYI/AAAAAAAAARU/CZz2pa-kk8M/s1600-h/IMG_4251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2Y7cabOsYI/AAAAAAAAARU/CZz2pa-kk8M/s320/IMG_4251.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The smiling rock in my parents' landscaping was peeking out of the snow suspiciously. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2Y7gwP7-1I/AAAAAAAAARc/b6DC6nbv20o/s1600-h/IMG_4259.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2Y7gwP7-1I/AAAAAAAAARc/b6DC6nbv20o/s320/IMG_4259.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">After the ice storm. Limbs break under the weight, power lines and poles fall, and vehicles slide, but there is an eerie beauty about everything outside.</div><br />
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</a></div>Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-37958253849397701232010-01-31T18:23:00.000-08:002010-01-31T18:23:12.639-08:00Merry Christmas!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2YyUNoxt-I/AAAAAAAAAQM/xCHB0zWA3gk/s1600-h/IMG_0420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2YyUNoxt-I/AAAAAAAAAQM/xCHB0zWA3gk/s320/IMG_0420.jpg" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Coming home to dogs is the most joyful experience. Storm didn't disappoint. She wagged until she was close enough to smell and realize it was me - then she was excited and kept jumping up to "nose-bump" me (her version of kisses). So sweet! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2Yw_3IW3cI/AAAAAAAAAPk/8tLeHM9wdF0/s1600-h/IMG_4181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2Yw_3IW3cI/AAAAAAAAAPk/8tLeHM9wdF0/s320/IMG_4181.JPG" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Where does a poor, time-crunched college student shop? At the school bookstore! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2YxHcZTfUI/AAAAAAAAAPs/boNdQl0RANk/s1600-h/IMG_4182.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2YxHcZTfUI/AAAAAAAAAPs/boNdQl0RANk/s320/IMG_4182.JPG" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mom and Dad wore their new FIT parent shirts with pride.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2YxNKsGrUI/AAAAAAAAAP0/Sq35N6l77Ic/s1600-h/IMG_4184.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2YxNKsGrUI/AAAAAAAAAP0/Sq35N6l77Ic/s320/IMG_4184.JPG" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Me and my girl. And a snowman.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2YxWc4xnSI/AAAAAAAAAP8/WdmUa0GpPmA/s1600-h/IMG_4186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2YxWc4xnSI/AAAAAAAAAP8/WdmUa0GpPmA/s320/IMG_4186.JPG" /></a> </div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Brian (bro-in-law) was super excited to receive an Ohio State light-up sign for his man cave. Go Hawks! Just have to throw that in to balance things out a bit.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2Yxh4oWPeI/AAAAAAAAAQE/i6Z7sSNFKQE/s1600-h/IMG_4188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2Yxh4oWPeI/AAAAAAAAAQE/i6Z7sSNFKQE/s320/IMG_4188.JPG" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> It's pretty clear my family loves our pups! Carissa (sista) showing off a new calendar and socks.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Christmas went by quickly but we were able to spend it together which is the best part. </div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-71276576585049975762010-01-31T17:37:00.000-08:002010-01-31T18:04:59.336-08:00Culture ShockI'm an Iowa girl and until I moved away, I didn't realize the pride that I have about my roots. It was great to get home for an extended break from school but it was also like culture shock returning to the Midwest.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2YrVsrfCkI/AAAAAAAAAPM/1g2N-2EllpU/s1600-h/IMG_0416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2YrVsrfCkI/AAAAAAAAAPM/1g2N-2EllpU/s320/IMG_0416.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The good kind of culture shock - homemade Christmas cookies. Hoo boy. Feel the love.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2YtKNXtO6I/AAAAAAAAAPU/c95A9KSrIl4/s1600-h/IMG_0442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2YtKNXtO6I/AAAAAAAAAPU/c95A9KSrIl4/s320/IMG_0442.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The bad kind of culture shock. Fashion at the local Fareway. Can you read her hat? It says "Flirt."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Video games with shotguns - haven't seen that in NY yet. Playing Buck Hunter at the small town Collins bar with Chuck. Love the price of drinks (free that night!) <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2YzokZw7mI/AAAAAAAAAQU/YQ2hgp0G7fY/s1600-h/IMG_4242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/S2YzokZw7mI/AAAAAAAAAQU/YQ2hgp0G7fY/s320/IMG_4242.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I was startled by clucking noise in the dark as I walked into my Great Aunt Betty's house. Her rooster was sitting on the porch hanging out. Betty told us he has walked into the house before to get out of the cold. Smart bird. But the dogs weren't happy about it and Betty had to rescue him from the dogs! I petted the rooster and was surprised at how soft the feathers were. Perhaps more feathers in my future designs... Iowa inspiration.</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">It was good to be home again. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div>Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-13038817400558055882010-01-04T19:31:00.000-08:002010-01-04T19:31:57.669-08:00Wheeling to Hyde Park1/1/2010-1/2/2010<br />
I had a fantastic deep tissue massage that really helped my sore neck. I've had pain for months and the typical sewing posture certainly didn't help! I felt relaxed and stretched out after the massage. <br />
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I also tried out a facial and learned I don't like them. I knew to expect stuff on my face of course, but there was a humidifier that blew steam right at me and that made me feel like I was suffocating. Then every time the girl smeared creams and gels on my face, when she ran her hand under my nose I felt like I was going to drown in the stuff. Not that she was getting it up my nose or anything, but it was still uncomfortable for me. Another step was when she massaged lotion into my hands, covered them with plastic bags and heated mitts, and then left aloe serum on my face for 15 minutes of relaxation time. So, I'm covered with stuff, feel like I'm suffocating, my eyes are covered, and my hands are bound. Umm... I'm sure it's supposed to feel great, but obviously not my thing! <br />
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Friday night was great - completely opposite of the Alinea meal. We walked around downtown to get supper. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Chicago dogs hit the spot after all the intense flavors the night before. Then we had hot chocolate drinks at the Ghiradelli store that faces the giant HERSHEY store across the street. Prime chocolate real estate apparently!<br />
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</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Outside the pub next to the hot dog shop. No one wastes a beer like that - you can tell it's frozen in place!<br />
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</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Saturday we met my sister Carissa and bro in law Brian in Wheeling for lunch. It was fun to see them and see the northern part of Chicago on our way although we did take the scenic route accidentally.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The lake from Lake Shore Drive. I was surprised the ice chunks were moving so much - strong winds made for waves and white caps. The view was so icy cold, it made me shiver just looking at it.<br />
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</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then we headed to Chinatown to pick up some fresh crab and lobster to take home. They had to chill in the hotel tub for a while. I feel for the cleaning staff that probably got quite a shock when they entered the bathroom!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Saturday night we got to enjoy Mediterranean food at <a href="http://eatcedars.com/default.aspx">Cedars</a> restaurant in Hyde Park with our friend Amir. His parents own the place so we got to sample all the best. It was great to catch up with him and he even drove us by Obama's house which was a couple blocks away. There was a For Sale sign in the lot so I asked why - Amir said the next door neighbor thinks he can get a great price now since it's next to the Obamas! <br />
</div>Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-89104270520105957302010-01-04T17:37:00.000-08:002010-01-04T17:37:56.255-08:00Taste of the New Year12/31/2009-1/1/2010<br />
Happy New Year, Happy New Decade!<br />
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My vacation within a vacation - during the winterim break from school, I went to Chicago for a fun getaway over New Year's weekend. It was frigid outside and the windy city lived up to its reputation. We had a weekend that was best spent inside. Luckily the eating, shopping and spa services were indoors and warm.<br />
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For New Year's Eve, I got a wonderful treat. <a href="http://www.alinea-restaurant.com/">Alinea</a> is a top rated restaurant and we had reservations for their special 10 course dinner. The whole experience is completely rehearsed - like a choreographed dance. Someone opens the taxi door, then someone opens the restaurant door, then someone takes our coats and asks our name, says our table is waiting upstairs and someone else leads the way up. There was no hostess stand, they have memorized the guest list and where the reservations are throughout the two floor restaurant. Someone even escorts you to the door leading to the restrooms - ha! Once we were seated, a server brought our first set of silverware on pillow-plates. Throughout the meal I noticed they rearrange the plates into a different position on the table depending on the course and the different silver provided. <br />
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The menu showed the highlights of each course and the wine pairings were listed on a vellum overlay that lined up perfectly to show when each new wine would come out. Check out the menu below. <br />
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The larger the circle by the course name, the larger the dish. The small circles were single bite courses. The further to the left the course name was printed, the heavier the dish. Shortribs were the heaviest, goose towards the lighter end. As each course was presented, a server introduced the dish, told us what flavors to expect, how to eat it if special instructions were required and any other interesting info. The wine specialist was a riot. Picture a young Einstein with crazy eyes - his hair was long and spiked into every direction. He was very knowledgeable about wines and their history. His introduction of the glass he poured was often so exciting, we sometimes couldn't understand what he said! <br />
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The whole meal was intense and amazing. I'll try not to go overboard, but I want to share some highlights. The Osetra was a play on traditional caviar served on toast. On top there was a foam flavored as toast. The caviar was below on a light cream layer. Then to the side was a little scoop of lemon flavored cream that gave just the right kick as you scooped through each part of the dish. The toast-foam was crazy. It was salty like crispy toast and really flavored the dish even though the texture was unexpected.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This course was the Matsutake. It was probably the prettiest. At nine o'clock position, a piece of pan seared otoro tuna with a sprig of something green on top. The egg looking thing at eleven o'clock was sorbet made of yuzushu. The server was VERY excited because apparently the chef often cooks with the juice of this Japanese fruit that looks like a clementine, but this is the first time they have had the actual fruit in the restaurant. She shaved some of the fruit zest onto the top part of the plate. The sorbet served as a palate cleanser because the flavors were all so different. Some of the drizzles sauces were mango, not sure what else. The romaine leaf spine was infused with sake and beneath the leaf was a homemade tortilla chip which was so light, crispy and salty... I could have munched on a pile of those with salsa all day. On the chip was the pine layer. It had pine nuts, and something that grew at the base of pine trees and therefore had a pine flavor. There was a light crunch to that part that I enjoyed. Coming down from twelve o'clock was a pate of some kind. It was good, but I'm not a huge pate fan. When I got the sauces in a bite with it, I enjoyed. The colorful squares at seven o'clock were like fruit leathers with edible flowers sprinkled on top. They were quite good. The wine with this course was like nothing I had ever tasted. It was described by our "Winestein" as light, but not lacking in flavor. It was crazy. I took a sip and the white wine was as he described - there was so much going on but not in a heavy way. I didn't care for it alone, but it worked quite well with the assortment of food.<br />
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I'm sitting in front of one of my favorite dishes of the night. It tasted like Christmas!! A bowl full of juniper sprigs was delivered to the table and one of the pieces had a tempura fried ball on the end - kind of like a pine lollipop. We were instructed to slide off the fried ball into our mouths in one bite. The scent of the juniper was yummy and the flavors inside the ball were so delicious - goose, stuffing, and prunes. It was like a delicious holiday meal in one bite. <br />
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For the black truffle course we were told not to try to scoop the dark sauce at the bottom - that was just the table showing through the dish with no bottom! There was a spoon sitting in the dish with a one-bite ravioli noodle that had a parmesan shaving on top. The server said to be careful our mouths completely closed when we bit down so we didn't squirt the inner sauce on each other. Then, the flavor explosion. Wow. It was like an entire bowl of french onion soup - the beef and mushroom flavors and the richness of a stick of butter all in one bite. <br />
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With the shortrib course, the wine was very powerful. It was from Sicily and the company that produces it is changing the industry. They basically throw grapes in plastic barrels and let them ferment so the end product isn't so processed. It had no sulfites for preservatives and the taste was strong and raw. <br />
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Oh eggnog! Floating in a shot glass with liquors I've never even heard of was a little ball like thin white chocolate that was filled with eggnog batter and sprinkled with nutmeg. You take the shot and the ball explodes in your mouth. SOO good! <br />
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Back to the hotel for a little nap after all the rich food and drink and then we walked to the lakefront. It was so cold we didn't last long so we headed back for a fun little party for the countdown in the hotel bar. Happy 2010!Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-5686923275814955612009-10-28T21:56:00.000-07:002009-10-28T22:28:51.656-07:00Coffee and Skittles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Monday October 5th<br />
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Computer class is not a highlight of my day so I don't usually talk about it, but I am getting better now and I'm learning a lot. I hope I can retain some of the info because the class still moves really quickly and I forget steps along the way because of the speed. We have been working on creating a mood board out of different non-fashion pictures and using special effects to change the look and colors. Then we will make computer-generated fabric designs and swatches and work towards filling in a fashion sketch to show pre-selected outfits in the fabrics we created. It's a cool process even though it drives me crazy every step of the way. Photoshop is amazing now. I remember the old school version that pretty much colors in shapes and has the spray paint function. Now I could replace someone in a photograph and have it look realistic. I could take a photo and turn it into a computer generated work of art. Well, I shouldn't say that I could do it, but some people can!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I got to play with my fabulous orange check wool to create a creative dolman sleeve draping project. I had something in mind: a jacket with a hood and short dolman sleeves, closing in front across the body with a little wave at the top. As I worked on playing with the fabric, I had a bunch of the excess gathered at the neck to get it out of the way. Prof Renzulli came over and gushed about it and had the class come over so he could talk about how sometimes you get something really great but you have to step back from it to make sure the proportions work and tone it down a bit. But basically he loved what I accidentally had going, so I kept in that direction!<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SukXQ7b0vRI/AAAAAAAAALw/n9SGAg_7pSY/s1600-h/IMG_3417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SukXQ7b0vRI/AAAAAAAAALw/n9SGAg_7pSY/s320/IMG_3417.JPG" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">Working on the mess that started it all</div><div style="text-align: center;"> <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Playing with the rest of the material to see what shape looked best. <br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I was afraid it was too picnic-tablecloth-like so I didn't want to overwhelm the eye.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It's hard to work with this much heavy fabric. The pins don't hold up that much weight easily. The fabric to the side is because eventually I will drape the back and then pin the front to the back in the rough shape of the dolman sleeve that I want.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It was really enjoyable getting to play with the material and practice using my design eye. And as for the evolution of my design... I'll show you the final product soon!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After class I went straight to work because the Basics Project was due tomorrow. I had a lot to finish. I treated myself to some Chinese delivery so I wouldn't have to take a break to cook or walk anywhere. It ended up being a good choice because I worked straight through and ended up pulling my first all-nighter of the year. I am a night person, but I hate to do that because I am also prone to migraines when I'm stressed and lacking sleep. I stayed awake on 4 cups of coffee and 2 bags of Skittles. It was like crack!! I don't usually drink anything with caffeine so that combo was golden.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Spread out on the floor with all my magazine clippings, rendered figures and mood board.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Side note: I had a friend ask what rendering is. I should probably explain my terms better! Rendering is drawing and coloring fashion illustrations in, but more than just coloring, it's trying to represent a particular fabric by showing texture, pattern, drape, etc. as well as realistically showing how the fabric wraps around the body. I'm learning how to render wool patterns like houndstooth, pinstripe, herringbone and checks in class now. Fur is coming soon - yay!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Okay, so back to the all-nighter. It was crazy. I worked solid through the night. When it got late enough that I needed to let poor Katey (roommate) sleep in peace, I moved to the kitchen table. And when it came time to use the toxic spray adhesive around 3 in the morning, I wasn't about to go outside so I went out into the hall of my dorm floor hoping that I wouldn't somehow cause the smoke alarms to be triggered. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Besides the decisions on mood board elements and layout, I had to line each figure with a clean sheet of paper, cut it out carefully around the edges (same for all the flats). Then I had to apply everything to the board and use a special double sided adhesive page to attach the swatches so they won't fray. Every step took a lot of time to turn out a clean, nice final product. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I finished at 7 AM and went to bed for an hour before waking up for class. Whew. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Being behind on my blog has benefits... I won't make you wait to see my final product this time. I have it back, graded and pictures taken. Here is my "Basics" Project. Now that name makes me laugh! <br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"> Mood board - shows target customer, theme, colors, and overall mood</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Swatches and flats. The flats show design details like topstitching that sometimes don't show up on the posed girls. They are used to communicate with the manufacturer how the garment should be made.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This was a fun flat. It's a striped knit with "dangling chads" of fabric that will sway when you move. <br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">And finally... the rendered figures! I'm really proud of them because they make the portfolio I submitted to get into the school look like a kid's coloring book. Progress! I especially like the girl on the left in the denim jumpsuit. She turned out hot. And I still have little to no control over that - it's funny how the faces sort of land on the paper and the personality just comes out.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The dreaded pattern skirt. I had to draw it twice on girls and once for the flats. I can see why people might prefer Photoshop for ease in duplicating the hard stuff. It can also save time because you can scan in the figures and print on a background instead of having to line them and cut out so carefully.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> Ah. Hard work pays off. My first A in the class and on a big project!<br />
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</div>Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-77685552486656837392009-10-04T20:24:00.000-07:002009-10-26T20:56:51.840-07:00Holy Rendering Batman!I'm still pretty slow at drawing figures and rendering fabric in marker and colored pencil is new to me. I really wanted my Basics Project to look good so I spent most of the day Sunday working on the figures and the mood board. Every single step took longer than I expected! I had already done a lot in class, but there was so much to do for finishing work.<br />
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The assignment was to create a mini collection that would be compatible with stores like H&M, Gap, and Uniqlo for the 18-25 year old market. We had to use a denim and a pattern and mix up cotton and knits. I picked a green denim that was really cool and a striped green and off white knit, a blue knit and a floral cotton in green, blue, black and off white. My colors were very coordinated which seemed a bit boring at first, but the stripe and floral combination was pretty fun. And for that market, I don't think creative use of color is necessarily an important selling point.<br />
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I already had my ideas sketched and selected in class but there was so much work to draw four dressed figures showing how the looks would coordinate along with flats of all the garments (also had to be colored in) and swatches and a mood board completed the presentation. At the end, I had to render the floral pattern on skirt with some fullness three times. It took SO LONG! Ugh. And the crazy thing is, you don't have to show the entire pattern since they only see a small swatch of fabric. I could have just repeated that smaller pattern more, but I just couldn't picture that as well as the way all the fabric would look.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Practicing the crazy skirt pattern<br />
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The mood board also took a long time. We sort of did our project backwards this time - working from our designs before getting a mood board together proved to be quite difficult. To search for pictures that show your customer and a similar color scheme after you've already created the whole look is difficult. It would be easy to make color changes to a picture I like in Photoshop now that I understand it better, but I didn't have time to mess with that so I spent a lot of time finding blue and green looking pictures of background scenes online.<br />
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Finding a young looking smiling girl was pretty tough in my fashion magazines too. The models don't smile! Come on, you're getting paid to wear the most fabulous clothing, wouldn't it look better to have a coy sexy smile instead of a full on frown?! I might just make my models smile on the runway because they ought to look happy to wear my clothes.Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-86065204196242754112009-10-03T19:49:00.000-07:002009-10-26T20:24:27.157-07:00Happy FabricRequired shopping trips to pick up fabric can be stressful due to digging through bolts, seeing scary prices, and general exhaustion. However, that all melts away when I find something that strikes me. I feel giddy and I get really pumped to see what will become of my selection. I walked into the heart of the garment district with Angela to make a stop at Mood. I split off in search of something at M&J Trimming - no luck. That store is amazing, but I think the help isn't up to the standard of Mood experts. Saw the Korean parade on my way. Running into random events in the city is always so fun!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I met back up with Angela and she was not happy after leaving Mood. The high prices really turned her off. We kept walking and found Textile Kingdom which might be a new favorite fabric store! It has low prices like TrueMart without the weird hours and somewhat unhelpful help. TrueMart serves its purpose being within a block of our school and it works for cheap small cuts of fabric needed for experimental assignment drapes but it doesn't always have quality fabric like Mood and I swear they don't always know what they are talking about - almost get the feel they would try to make the sale by lying about fiber content or something.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Textile Kingdom was a good mix of helpful salesmen and reasonable prices. They made me laugh because every fabric we looked at, they would say, "This is beautiful wool, $8 a yard, I give to you for $7. This is great crepe, $4 but I give to you for $3." You get the idea. Anyway, I really got excited because I found this cream and deep orange checked wool that was so different from most fabrics I was considering for my dolman sleeve project. Finding it really made me happy - like finding a personalized treasure! Then I found a nice sueded-feeling rayon in a brick shade. It reminded me of the color blocked silk shirt craze of the early nineties. It was so soft and I left feeling better in general. Fabric can do that. Angela was super pumped with some great (cheap!) finds as well.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Back to school to work on my bodice and skirt for the dirndl skirt dress. I finished what I needed to and jumped to pattern making homework. Our assignment was to make a draft, pattern and muslin of a creative long sleeve. I had a funky idea but I was pretty excited to give it a try.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The crazy looking sleeve in paper! I wanted a a break where the elbow would bend and splits above and below on the front of the arm. <br />
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</div>Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-68182327474651889482009-10-02T22:30:00.000-07:002009-10-06T19:41:41.737-07:00Darts - Thrown not SewnHow is it October?! I worked hard Thursday night on my short puff sleeve variation for Pattern class. It didn't go well. My design ideas were not easily translated after only learning the basics in class. I feel like the teacher puts a lot of pressure on us to be creative and design what we are envisioning, but she doesn't offer much direction after her lesson on the simple steps to manipulate a sleeve sloper into a bell, puff, shirt waist, leg-o-mutton, etc. (Yes, leg-o-mutton is the technical term for one sleeve style, ha! It usually refers to a leg of lamb, as in a hunk of meat.).<br />
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</div>Learning puff sleeve variations<br />
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I had a design in mind that would have been a lantern sleeve on the bottom, and would have had pleats at the top that showed a peek through fabric when the sleeve puffed out. I couldn't figure out how to accomplish that and it was getting late so I tried a basic lantern. I had questions on that and got stuck, so finally I caved and made a boring petal sleeve. Yes it looked fine, but it is so very girly and not me. However, it worked perfectly for the style of our princess seam dress in Struct. Draping, so I was able to crossover and use it there. Lesson learned: buy a pattern making reference book. It wasn't required for class, but I obviously need it to fill in gaps in my notes!<br />
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My half pants got an A from Prof. Renzulli. Yeah! We started draping the princess seam dress but due to the missed Mondays, we are behind schedule so that project will be set aside to finish later.<br />
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Friday night! Angela and I went out for sushi in the East Village. We had a really great time and it was a mini celebration because she applied for the art concentration for second semester and she had just completed her application to hand in that day. A glass of plum wine and good conversation about potential design ideas... it felt like life instead of school!<br />
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Angela dragged me to The Creperie after our meal (yeah right!!). It's a hole in the wall <i>tiny</i> place that serves out of this world savory and sweet crepes. I had the Nutella, banana, strawberry and whipped cream variety. Whoa.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We thought about stopping somewhere to play pool, but didn't see any bars like that so we headed for home. On the way to the station, surprise! The perfect Irish type pub with a pool table and laid back patrons. I told Angela she's like my lucky charm because we seem to run into so many great finds when we are out.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The pool table was tiny so we opted for darts instead. We played one game and then got challenged by a couple of guys. It was funny because we sort of made up rules since we weren't entirely sure on how to play Cricket. The guys took a while to catch on but that's not why they lost. We were superior dart throwers, hands down. Angela's ability to nail the bullseye and my combination of luck and decent aim, meant we kicked butt. No betting occurred so the guys joked that we really lost because we could have had a free shot out of the deal. But, we didn't want to buy in case we lost (us being poor students and all).<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I enjoyed talking to one of the guys who gave me an outsiders perspective on FIT. He thought it strange that there is a SUNY state school in Manhattan. He also laughed when we mentioned how intense our program is. He didn't believe us until we described more in detail the pace and how much information we cover. When the conversation turned to our previous college degrees and then our age, he pulled the ol' side step to escape. Guys are so funny like that - heaven forbid they have a great conversation with someone that's outside of their dating pool. Thank goodness I'm not looking so I don't care about rejection from 24 year old boys in the bar. :)<br />
</div>Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-13415326662132110982009-09-29T18:25:00.000-07:002009-10-06T18:49:25.279-07:00Wishful ThinkingSaturday was the last day to view the Isabel and Ruben Toledo exhibit in our school fashion museum. I spent an hour sketching my favorite inspiration pieces. It was relaxing and even more interesting after hearing them speak a few days earlier. As a fashion design student here, I can't help but wish that my designs may someday be featured in the museum.<br />
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Yom Kippur meant another three day weekend. I welcomed the extension of time and took advantage of the day by visiting a few shops. I had quiche at Madeleine Patisserie on 23rd St. The coffee shop is very French, from the chef and his family working in the kitchen, to the attitude of the help behind the counter! The macarons are to die and everything is so fresh and delicious. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I practiced sketching feet during my lazy breakfast. My Life Drawing instructor suggested imitating the masters. I used a book of human sketches and I was surprised at how much it already helped me in class on Wednesday. I have a better feel for the shape of the foot and all the intricacies of tendons and toe joints.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My next stop was Mood to buy the fabrics I swatched for my Art project. It is likely wishful thinking, but I would really like to make some of the pieces that I designed. I think it would be a great way to round out my portfolio coming out of school. I also hopped on the Subway to check out Pearl Paint on Canal Street. The store is in a creaky old building with different departments on 8 floors (or more... I think that was the last one I climbed the stairs to reach!). For the size of the store, I was not impressed with their selection. I picked up a sheet of decorative paper for my art project, and used my 30% off coupon. Not really worth the trip, but now I know that our Fashion Design Bookstore across from the store is unbeatable. It's tiny, but they know exactly what we need for every class and they always have it on hand.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When I emerged from the subway on my way home, surprise! Weather changes quickly here. Note to self: always carry umbrella in purse.<br />
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</div>Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-81842685372969082112009-09-28T21:07:00.000-07:002009-10-06T18:25:18.560-07:00Pick my BattlesThursday: <br />
Fire drill! As we filed out of the building, we saw vendors setting up outside our buildings. Only at FIT can you shop during your fire drill! I joked with a fur salesman that I figured he must have pulled the alarm to get shoppers outside - he got a good laugh out of that.<br />
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Back inside to grade the dart bodice. Another A-. I should be happy with that, but Prof. Seggio said I didn't change the darts that much and the assignment was creative dart manipulation. Bummer. I took it pretty hard which was stupid, but I keep thinking structured looks are my thing so I want to do really well in that class! I hope she's just pushing me to stretch myself even more.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My friend Anna had a really fun look and was definitely creative with her darts! <br />
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Then we started princess seam bodices. We can do any variation but it was hard for me to decide what to do because then I REALLY felt pressure to be creative! I wasn't inspired and I wanted to do quality work so I stalled and figured I could work it out over the weekend.<br />
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Sleeves were the topic in Pattern Making. We are learning to take a basic straight sleeve sloper and convert it into different puff sleeve patterns. Our patterns aren't anything complicated yet, but I really enjoy the flat to three-dimensional process.<br />
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Joy, joy! I was able to take an empty seat to see Isabel and Ruben Toledo speak at our school. They are a husband and wife team - he the illustrator, she the seamstress. They are best known for his illustrations for Nordstroms and her lemongrass coat that Michelle Obama wore on Inauguration Day. She was very inspirational for me to hear after another long day/week. Some of her ideas are so opposite from my current mindset, it was fantastic to open my mind to more creative ways to design. <br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"> Ruben and Isabel Toledo in conversation with Valerie Steele from the FIT Museum.<br />
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I had lots of homework to finish before Friday. I hand basted along the bias on my fabric for draping a cowl. It took me longer than I expected to hand baste! I was trying to be perfect again, and it was for something that really didn't matter. I need to get better about picking my battles. I also procrastinated my Art & Design homework. I really enjoy drawing and rendering once I get started, but for some reason it's one of those things that I can't jump into easily.<br />
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Friday:<br />
We got to drape with <gasp!> real fabric today! It was so nice to get away from the boring muslin and see bright colors around the room. Prof. Renzulli gave us two hours to practice draping, and it took that long just to get an even cowl that I liked. The silk I brought was harder to work with than I expected. It's so wiggly! I switched to my chocolate material. I'm not sure on the fiber content, but it was so heavy I could hardly hold it up with regular pins! For this simple assignment, our class produced some interesting variety. I was impressed.</gasp!><br />
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We worked more on our basics project in class Friday. Prof. Bonner handed back some corrected and graded figures. I got worse grades on my figures than my structured draping, yet it really didn't bother me. Obviously I care more about the fabric manipulation than the drawing! We have to decide this week if we want to try for the art specialization for second semester. My decision to stick with the apparel specialization was solidified after seeing my art grades - ha!<br />
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I had to add this picture for my friend back home, Kandy. We were margarita buddies. With Kandy, I knew no better way of getting life back into focus than talking over a margarita or two. Dallas BBQ on 23rd St supplied my end of week fix but it wasn't the same without Kandy!<br />
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</div>Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-8020973472479777712009-09-23T23:59:00.000-07:002009-09-23T23:59:00.205-07:00Goodbye Free TimeI'm going to work backwards for this post...<br />
It's Wednesday night, actually Thursday morning at 1 am and I just finished my creative bodice for tomorrow morning's class. When I finished I was wondering why it took me 3.5 hours, but then I remembered that I didn't know how to drape anything four weeks ago! :) I am curious what kind of grade this will get because it's the first of our creative assignments versus following step by step instructions to learn the basic techniques. So far I've been an A- student in Prof. Seggio's class. Hopefully I can bump it up to an A for some lessons!<br />
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Tonight I got groceries - love that it's right around the corner, but hate that everything seems to cost twice as much here! A can of black beans for $2.19?! Come on! I had to buy nearly expired spaghetti to pay a normal amount.<br />
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After groceries I went to a meeting about Fusion 2010 - the Fashion Show/Competition between Parsons and FIT students. I am considering applying, however only 15 students are selected and an incredible amount of extra work follows. I'm not sure if I am sure I want to do it, but there are fantastic opportunities that can follow. Hmm.<br />
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Life Drawing in the afternoon was enjoyable like always. We had the same model as last week and I really like her body shape and attitude/poses. To begin, we did quick 1 minute sketches of her changing positions for around 30 minutes total. It wore out my wrist! It was a great way to quickly get an outline and a feel for body placement. The rest of the class was normal 20 minute poses. Mine look pretty good but I still need to work on hands and feet. The teacher said those are the most difficult.<br />
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My three hour break on Wednesdays is quickly turning into work time. So much for the laid back hump day. I started draping my creative bodice front during the break. I feel like I am going to have to start scheduling time for things like eating and personal hygiene! I need to clip my friggin fingernails and I can't seem to get it done!<br />
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In the morning we had sewing. My sewing samples seem to be coming together really well. We're just doing simple seams, hems, and zippers, but you might be surprised at how difficult it can be to get a zipper inserted and stitch around it completely straight. I hope the rest of the projects in that class go as well for me.Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-72302742849109227522009-09-22T22:17:00.000-07:002009-09-23T22:32:45.265-07:00TuesdayThis morning I turned in my faced, button up, flare skirt dress with cuffed sleeve. Everything we do like this is a variation of the basics we have learned for draping a bodice and skirt. I like seeing how the different styles are done. Another A- because my collar was a bit too high in back. Not too shabby.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the afternoon we learned how to show a full skirt in Fashion Art & Design. Here is the start of my picture. <br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SrsC7a4USNI/AAAAAAAAAHg/11gHZnQ6OOM/s1600-h/IMG_3346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SrsC7a4USNI/AAAAAAAAAHg/11gHZnQ6OOM/s320/IMG_3346.JPG" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">I still want to make my girls a little thinner but this seems to be my natural proportions for drawing. Maybe normal sized models will come back into style and I'll be right on track - ha!</div><div style="text-align: center;"> <br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">In the evening I worked on homework in my room. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My roommate Katey was freezing so she found a creative solution.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"> Katey's classmate Eunice was hanging out with us doing homework.<br />
</div>Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-50499342242897323312009-09-21T22:00:00.000-07:002009-09-22T20:59:28.258-07:00Rough StartMonday morning - ugh. I got a few things done before my 11:10 class but I was up late Sunday night so the combination lack of sleep and general feeling of dread for my computer design class meant I was off to a bad start. Then I got a computer that was having problems. It was one of those situations where the teacher comes over and <click, click=""> fixes the issue, but as soon as she walks away - the problem is back. I was trying to get through it anyway, but then partway through the lesson and the project I started, the computer just shut off. I don't know whether I kicked a power cord or what. It was enough to put me over the edge. I moved to another computer and tried to calm down. I already feel like I can't keep up in this class, so getting behind because of stupid technology issues was too much to handle!! Instead of crying on my muslin like I expected at some point, I was wiping away tears in a darkened computer lab because I couldn't keep up. I have worked on computers for 10 years in different jobs so part of my issue is feeling like this should come easier! Photoshop is a really intense program with a lot of components though, so I need to let myself learn it over time. My friends asked about my lunch plans not realizing I had been crying and I let them know I would be going back to my room to bawl for a bit, but I thanked them for the invitation anyway. They were very sweet and helped calm me down, but my roommate Amanda got an earful too. Good friends - good listeners! I really wanted to have a glass of wine or three during lunch, but I figured I'd better not since I still had to drape a straight pair of pants in the afternoon.</click,><br />
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Draping class was much better (love Prof. Renzulli anyway). I was able to get back on track and back to my normal self, although I realized I really need more sleep to function mentally and emotionally right now!Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-88818421461128504492009-09-20T21:43:00.000-07:002009-09-22T20:47:00.217-07:00Rosh HashanaI still had to finish my homework for Computer Design so Christine and I met to work in the computer lab on Sunday. But, we found out that it was closed for Rosh Hashana. Thank goodness Christine had just purchased the software for her home computer. She invited me to her apartment in the Upper West side to finish the assignment.<br />
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Her place was very nice - wood floors, kind of a long and narrow setup but plenty of room for the necessities. Her sewing area was very organized - something I'm not used to! It was really nice to spend the day with her and get to chat outside of school. I found out her husband Andy and she had found a church they like and it happened to be the same one that someone back home recommended to me! After we finished the homework, we grabbed a bite to eat and went to evening service together.<br />
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The church is called Redeemer and in the evening at this location (there are several), they have hymns and updated songs, all set to a live jazz band backdrop. It was really enjoyable. I hadn't made it there myself partly because I was busy, but also because I just wasn't confident about how to get there. I found out from this day trip with Christine that the subway trip there is super easy and stops right outside the church. So, thanks to Rosh Hashana, I made it to church service! I can definitely see more trips to the Upper West side in my future.Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-10817145765849806572009-09-19T22:43:00.000-07:002009-09-20T23:47:52.615-07:00Fun HomeworkAngela and I decided to have brunch at one of her favorite places and then head to the workroom. On our way to the lower East Side to get to the restaurant, we stumbled upon this fantastic vintage fair/flea market. It was like nothing I've ever seen in Iowa or Missouri where old Alf shirts are a treasure... this place had furs, dresses from the forties, fun hats, brooches, etc. We had so much fun digging through boxes of belts and trying on interesting garments.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Angela liked this crazy material for draping a swing skirt<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I got this wool camel blazer for $10! I passed on the hat and snakeskin purse though.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This super friendly dog was out shopping as well. I miss my dog, Storm!<br />
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<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Angela loved these crazy pants - we didn't even know which was the front/back at first! The guy working the booth wouldn't lower his price from $20 though. She was mad that he took less for my blazer than the Hammer pants.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Old photos. Interesting to think that pictures from today may someday be sold like these.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We had so much fun shopping that we ended up staying for quite a while. I got some great elbow high leather gloves that were priced right. Next door there was even more to see upstairs. Really old clothes and some amazing fur coats. We finally made it to the lower East Side but still didn't make it to the Pink Pony to eat because we found a Young Artists Fair. I enjoyed seeing the creations of people my age. Some of my favorites were hats and fabulous belt creations made out of ties and zippers.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We managed to start brunch sometime around 3:00 pm! The Pink Pony had flavorful fresh food and the atmosphere was like an old coffee shop with modern touches.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And my savory spinach and brie omelet with rosemary roasted potatoes<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We stopped to do some homework by shopping through American Apparel for an inspiration piece. On the way back to the subway, I cracked up when I saw a herd of runners in red dresses!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We made it back home right around 5:00 and headed out again to shop/research H&M and make a stop at Barnes and Noble. I never made it to the workroom!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After a little bit of downtime and a mini nap, it was time to get ready for the evening. Katherin's friend was having a birthday party and she invited us to go out. It was a fun time dancing and meeting some of her former coworkers. We even got cheesecake from the birthday boy, but there weren't any forks so we all looked ridiculous eating straight off the plates!<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">What a perfect Saturday spent exploring the city with a friend. I can try to plan my days, but leaving room for adventures has been so rewarding.<br />
</div></div>Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-27198436278973207562009-09-18T22:18:00.000-07:002009-09-20T22:38:57.093-07:00TGIF!TGIF! It's been a long week. Soft Silhouettes draping class was first this morning. We started draping pants. I've drafted a pants pattern based on measurements before, but never draped pants. We get to use the funny looking full body mannequins so there are legs to work around. Prof. Renzulli warned us about setting them up too high because they can fall over easily and they are very heavy. Poor Angela barely touched hers during the lecture and it fell right over, taking out some stray T squares along the way. I was afraid it was going to be a domino effect of mannequins but the loud crashing stopped with hers. We all laughed - it was just an accident but the timing was funny after he had just mentioned the danger! Angela was cracking me up that morning anyway saying that the bags under her eyes are going to be her new accessory for the fall. What a week.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Setting up for denim rendering in Fashion Art & Design<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the afternoon we worked on indicating denim in our illustrations. That was fun - learned a couple techniques including etching over a piece of crisp new denim to actually show some of the diagonal lines. I'll have to post a picture of my denim ladies once I finish.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My Friday night was WILD. I got groceries because we were out of toilet paper. I picked up some yummy healthy Korean food for supper, then went to the workroom for a while with Angela, MaryAnn and Katherin. I didn't last very long there because I was tired enough that I seemed to be making more mistakes than progress! I headed home and tried to explain to all the young'ns on my floor that I was too tired to go out with them and I went to bed at a decent time. It felt good.<br />
</div>Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-3621258215240870642009-09-17T22:06:00.000-07:002009-09-17T22:06:00.827-07:00Catching upEven after the relaxing classes yesterday and a nice workout in the evening, I was feeling stressed. It seems the teachers were right about predicting a meltdown about three weeks in. Several of my classmates have admitted to breaking down at some point in the last week and I was borderline last night. Homework wasn't stressing me out as much as overall pressure and feeling backed up on everything at home like laundry, groceries, paperwork and bills. My desk is a mess so I feel like my life isn't in order! Several classmates worked until very late last night in the workroom, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Now I'm behind them in homework, but I know I have plenty of time this weekend and I think I saved myself from crying all over my muslin.<br />
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This morning I felt better, but I certainly wasn't working at my normal pace. Everyone was draping a swing skirt or circle skirt, and I was still working on my collar to complete the bodice from last class. I'm still okay with my progress because I understand the lesson so I'll catch up this weekend.<br />
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I was able to take care of several things during my lunch hour so my desk started to get into better shape. I grabbed a quick wrap from the cafe down the block and even had 5 minutes to spare to check out the tables promoting all the school clubs that I won't have time to join! I picked up some freebies including much needed tote bags.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> This man and his poodle stopped in front of our school to pose for anyone with a camera. I don't know anything else about him. He was wonderful.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Pattern making in the afternoon was good. The bodice I cut from her basic sloper wasn't fitting my dress form well at all and Prof. Underwood pointed out that the mannequin's neck was broken! You wouldn't believe how beat up some of the forms are. I am working with one that has a spiral drawn on her breast and most are marked up, some are missing pieces of fabric covering... It's just not in the budget to update them as often as they need. But students are marking on them and shouldn't be, so I can understand why the school doesn't want to spend a lot there. At the teacher's suggestion, I changed to a different model with her neck intact and didn't have to make as many adjustments to the bodice, but the whole process took up more time of course. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Home to catch up on more paperwork and I feel so much better because I can see my desk! Then I went to Zumba class which was a really good workout with Latin dance inspired moves. Back home for homework and bed!<br />
</div>Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-3676504543748969382009-09-16T20:14:00.000-07:002009-09-17T21:02:55.892-07:00I love Wednesdays!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Wednesdays may be my new favorite day of the week. The classes are easy for me so it feels like a break from the stress of the normal routine. In the morning I have sewing. We are covering the basics and it is almost identical in curriculum to the Iowa State class I took. I'm getting more practice on the industrial machines and my samples are looking good.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then I get a three hour break which almost feels like vacation! I am able to get daytime errands done, call businesses that are only open 9-5, and relax for a long lunch. Not today though... we have an assignment due on Friday that we were given on Tuesday so several of us booked it to Mood for sampling! Mood is open limited hours in the evenings so this was our best chance. I realized it was my first trip to Mood. I thought I stopped in briefly last year when I visited NY but it was another store. Then I remember how I felt overwhelmed at some of the other fabric stores so I didn't even attempt Mood!<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">Greeting us at the door is Swatch - Mood's mascot. He has a calming effect. :)<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The next thing you see is a sample draped fabric by one of the talented employees. I can't wait until we get to this level of draping! The dress looks sewn, but it's simply pinned in such an impeccable way that the pins look decorative and the dress is stunning.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's interesting how differently we all approach our assignments. My friend Christine had inspiration and was collecting as many samples that caught her eye as possible. Another friend Angela was snipping and was already forming a color scheme that looked like her style. I struggled at first, not knowing where to begin, partly because I prefer higher quality fabrics so I kept veering towards silks but the assignment calls for cotton and knits only. Bummer. I really need to learn to use those creatively too! I didn't have any ideas for the style of the clothes yet, so my samples still need to be edited in a big way. But I left feeling like I had a lot of choices to work with.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the afternoons on Wednesdays, Life Drawing is my stress-relief. Drawing what's in front of me comes easily versus the pressure of coming up with something creative and original. I love sitting and drawing the nude models and learning more about how the human body is composed. Everyone is unique, yet there are similarities between any size of person. I still want to work on faces and everyone in the class has to practice hands and feet because our instructor said those are the most detailed part of the body and the hardest to capture. He is very right. I'm seeing improvements already just practicing once a week.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here are some samples of my sketches. These are 20 minute poses with a live model and we are mainly focusing on the body proportions and the outline of the person. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Sorry it's so light - the newsprint is hard to photograph in my dark room.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I really liked this model. They are all quirky (okay, some are straight up strange) but I think you might have to be to get paid to stand naked in front of 25 people for the sake of art. At one point during a break, she was back in her dress but chose to lay on the small stage at the front of the room for a little catnap. Hmmm.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Her poses weren't the most interesting, but that meant she was actually able to stay more still. Her face turned out pretty well - I'm trying to work on my faces. It's hard to capture personality and expression in a small sketch. <br />
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</div>Wonderful Wednesday. Back to full steam ahead tomorrow.<br />
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</div>Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-4026399927844273962009-09-15T22:00:00.000-07:002009-09-15T22:00:05.633-07:00Ramping UpToday I woke up tired from all the surreal activities of the weekend. Tuesdays are busy because my classes meet from 9 am to 6 pm with an hour break for lunch that passes VERY quickly! In the morning we draped another bodice with different variations of darts and we are learning to drape a collar and a front button closure. My bodice is coming along pretty well. It's hard to get everything perfect because the dress forms are about as unique as people. Mine doesn't have a very good shoulder ridge so my ease measurements were causing problems, but once I figured that out I was back on track.<br />
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In the afternoon I had Fashion Art class. I really enjoy the class, but sitting to draw for that long can get to be tedious. We turned in our assignment from last class - 5 heads colored with markers and shaded with colored pencils. It was a new art technique for me so I took a long time completing them last night (also contributing to my tired state!). Overall I was pretty happy with the final result but I still need to practice hair.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SrBl6zLD3hI/AAAAAAAAADw/Lx1DDPIf3vo/s1600-h/IMG_3250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SrBl6zLD3hI/AAAAAAAAADw/Lx1DDPIf3vo/s320/IMG_3250.JPG" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My five heads with varying necklines</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SrBmBWJYC_I/AAAAAAAAAD4/cTKbj1Du_TM/s1600-h/IMG_3252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SrBmBWJYC_I/AAAAAAAAAD4/cTKbj1Du_TM/s320/IMG_3252.JPG" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My favorite. She was supposed to be blond but the red took over. Turned out really well anyway. It was interesting how many of the students seemed to have one head that looked like themselves. This was the closest to my look!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SrBmG3eXaKI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/sy2LaDtKTWI/s1600-h/IMG_3257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SrBmG3eXaKI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/sy2LaDtKTWI/s320/IMG_3257.JPG" /></a> </div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Sexy librarian.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SrBntmAnFaI/AAAAAAAAAEg/t4YT2AFJH6s/s1600-h/IMG_3256.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SrBntmAnFaI/AAAAAAAAAEg/t4YT2AFJH6s/s320/IMG_3256.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> She turned out pretty too.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SrBn_XlhwqI/AAAAAAAAAEo/uIQgfnJAlq4/s1600-h/IMG_3255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SrBn_XlhwqI/AAAAAAAAAEo/uIQgfnJAlq4/s320/IMG_3255.JPG" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I really overworked her hair. I don't have a lot of colors to work with yet so I ended up coloring too much but tried to make it work with pencil over the top. Prof. Bonner said it looked good even though I didn't get enough highlights. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">During class today we got to walk over to the color lab in the FIT museum. It was an amazing field trip. The lab has paint chips organized by color and hue and file cabinets full of every color so you can get swatches of the right color. The most amazing part was the woman telling us about the process of checking out the lab - she was an amazing wealth of knowledge! We got to see resources that forecast colors for upcoming seasons. Some of these resources are worth a few thousand dollars and fashion houses don't always budget for them - unbelievable resource!! My Prof was even drooling over the chance to see Trend Union color swatches because she said she hasn't seen them in years in her design jobs. The museum worker took out white gloves to roll open this cloth with all the swatches attached in groupings. There were also books that explained the inspiration for the colors and the way the groupings worked. It was really inspiring.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Even as I admired these tools provided by industry professionals, I still had that little voice inside me saying that I want to set trends, not follow someone else's idea of what I should do. I wonder if I will ever get to that point in my career where I can truly be as unique as Dries Van Noten and do whatever I want instead of selecting colors and designs for the simple reason that someone else told me they would sell. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We headed back to class and started on our next assignment - three color rendered swimsuit figures. Prof. Bonner also explained our big upcoming project. It will be my first chance (outside of my portfolio to get into the school) to show a grouping of separates coming together for a mini-wardrobe. It's scary and exciting at the same time. These things are always intimidating to me at first, but I love seeing them come together - I end up surprising myself. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-61307104720864108382009-09-10T23:58:00.000-07:002009-09-11T22:02:42.224-07:00Not Your Average DayFashion Week in NY begins! My day started with a special event for only 70 students with designer Dries van <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Noten</span>. He won the 2009 Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion by The Couture Council of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology. He agreed to accept the award on the condition that he would be allowed to speak to some students (love him for that!!). This school is amazing - the resources are unbelievable. I feel so fortunate to be included in the select few who got to witness this designer answering our questions in an intimate setting. We took a group picture with him and I feel like it was an incredible kick off to the whole school year.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqsjwgrD5jI/AAAAAAAAADg/LIF3JsNkxso/s1600-h/IMG_3164.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqsjwgrD5jI/AAAAAAAAADg/LIF3JsNkxso/s320/IMG_3164.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380433496135427634" border="0" /></a>Master of color, Dries van <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Noten</span><br /></div><br />Anna <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Wintour</span>, Editor in Chief of Vogue (genius) took an idea from White Night in Paris and generated support from Mayor <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Bloomberg</span> to have an evening devoted to fashion which could boost the economy of the fashion industry. 700 retailers stayed open until 11 PM and celebrities and designers were on hand for an amazing night of shopping, celebrating and fashion! Fashion's Night Out became a worldwide event with several major cities participating. The fashion industry in NY is second only to finance in the number of people it employs. Helping the whole industry is a fantastic idea, and a huge undertaking. I think they pulled it off beautifully.<br /><br />I went to Barneys (first time) and they had so many things going on, I never even made it to another store. Champagne and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">hors </span>devours were on every floor although it was so busy I never managed to get a glass! It was overwhelming even getting inside the store because there were people filming and cameras just waiting for celebrities to enter.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/Sqsft8xg9DI/AAAAAAAAADY/rqoWhgJ3X6A/s1600-h/IMG_3181.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/Sqsft8xg9DI/AAAAAAAAADY/rqoWhgJ3X6A/s320/IMG_3181.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380429054092571698" border="0" /></a>Venus Williams was out shopping with her mom. She seemed unfazed by the madness.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqsftcDQguI/AAAAAAAAADQ/vv5ztvHEPWY/s1600-h/IMG_3182.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqsftcDQguI/AAAAAAAAADQ/vv5ztvHEPWY/s320/IMG_3182.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380429045308621538" border="0" /></a>Jonathan Adler demonstrating his pottery methods<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqsftEQ4faI/AAAAAAAAADI/52szc3ZTAck/s1600-h/IMG_3186.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqsftEQ4faI/AAAAAAAAADI/52szc3ZTAck/s320/IMG_3186.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380429038923316642" border="0" /></a>In the cosmetics department this gentleman asked to "borrow my eyes" and then he did a mini makeover for me. It wasn't until I was done and walked away that I saw some girls taking pics with him and realized he was on the program bill - Claudio Riaz, "Brush Guru!" Had a good conversation with him about how he got into the biz. He says he is possibly the only straight married man in his line of work! He is based out of Chicago and likes being in the center of the country for easier travel.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqsfshYDHxI/AAAAAAAAADA/VuKX3McvZQY/s1600-h/IMG_3189.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqsfshYDHxI/AAAAAAAAADA/VuKX3McvZQY/s320/IMG_3189.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380429029558132498" border="0" /></a>Supermodel Iman. Sweeeet.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqsfRNHqY-I/AAAAAAAAACw/p8HIIpSAQbc/s1600-h/IMG_3178.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqsfRNHqY-I/AAAAAAAAACw/p8HIIpSAQbc/s320/IMG_3178.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380428560264225762" border="0" /></a>Do you recognize this man?<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqspIPiPzfI/AAAAAAAAADo/kA-XwMFIaUU/s1600-h/IMG_3180.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqspIPiPzfI/AAAAAAAAADo/kA-XwMFIaUU/s320/IMG_3180.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380439401410055666" border="0" /></a>Manolo Blahnik! Shoe legend!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Gina (from my dorm floor) and I even got to make a flip book with Coco Rocha! We met her (she's super fun by the way) and danced with her for 5 seconds and then they made a little action flip book of it! <br /><br />I was a little surprised that the biggest excitement seemed to be for Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. The crowd gathered to meet them and it was insane. Gina got a picture but it was just because she held her camera up over the mass of people and pointed it down to where the girls were. The security guards had to be concerned that they would be trampled! Meanwhile, I met a photographer from Hollywood and also talked to a nice woman from Rhode Island that has a daughter interested in fashion. It was fun answering her questions about FIT even though I told her I was new and didn't know everything!<br /></div></div><br />We ended the night at McDonald's. I would have loved to support the fashion industry instead of the fast food industry, but trust me, the burger fit my budget better!Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4019625701541545886.post-46224055467616394182009-08-22T15:26:00.000-07:002009-09-08T21:13:46.324-07:00In the beginning...In case you need to catch up to this point in my life:<br />After 11 years working since high school, I finally get my chance at full time college. I'm in the one year AAS Fashion Design program at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT (cute, right?)) in NYC.<br /><br />After a hectic summer of work, selling my townhouse, two classes, four garage sales, selling my car, packing to move in with my parents, still trying to sell my townhouse, packing and storing leftover stuff for storage, still dealing with the townhouse, packing to move to NY, STILL trying to close the townhouse sale, then packing the U-Haul and <span style="font-style: italic;">finally</span> getting the mortgage dude to complete the transaction... I left for the road trip to NY with my parents.<br /><br />We decided to t<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqcDvz7iWvI/AAAAAAAAAAw/cT3lIn2A-s0/s1600-h/IMG_2960.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 163px; height: 122px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqcDvz7iWvI/AAAAAAAAAAw/cT3lIn2A-s0/s200/IMG_2960.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379272399846005490" border="0" /></a>ake the very scenic detour through Niagra Falls on the way. First night was in Chicago area staying with my sister and bro in law. Had a fun short visit with them. Carissa gave me a funny book showing actual notes roommates have left for each other to prepare me for the shock of living in the dorms. "I lick my cheese." A great way to keep others out of your food supply. :) Then the long day of driving to the border. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqcErkiBXZI/AAAAAAAAAA4/1Xe7dufM9QU/s1600-h/IMG_0159.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 117px; height: 156px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqcErkiBXZI/AAAAAAAAAA4/1Xe7dufM9QU/s320/IMG_0159.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379273426504605074" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We were nervous about crossing the border with the U-Haul because Dad has us on a tight schedule and can you imagine if they searched it?! A mean looking Canadian border guard questioned us and I had to dig out proof that I was accepted into FIT, but then we were good to go.<br /><br />Niagra Falls was very pretty. We had a nice room that overlooked the falls. The American falls were very rocky so they were pretty because of the changing direction of the water, but the Canadian falls are the ones you usually see in pictures. Massive falling water, spray that shoots so far up and out that we could even feel it from the rooftop pool at our hotel - quite a distance away. We got there in time to take a few pictures before the sun set<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqceH_PPdcI/AAAAAAAAABA/NZDRNkm7iKY/s1600-h/IMG_2978.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 360px; height: 270px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqceH_PPdcI/AAAAAAAAABA/NZDRNkm7iKY/s400/IMG_2978.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379301402500625858" border="0" /></a><br />The view from our hotel room.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqcetHJqBGI/AAAAAAAAABI/teFuzF1V6YU/s1600-h/IMG_2981.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 360px; height: 270px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqcetHJqBGI/AAAAAAAAABI/teFuzF1V6YU/s400/IMG_2981.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379302040279843938" border="0" /></a>One of my fave shots of the American falls.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Dad treated us to a nice buffet meal up high in the hotel with another great view of the falls. Then we headed out for a walk and got to see fireworks and the waterfalls lit up with bright colorful lights.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqcgZgmZo_I/AAAAAAAAABY/1dwb0A5Syig/s1600-h/IMG_3023.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqcgZgmZo_I/AAAAAAAAABY/1dwb0A5Syig/s320/IMG_3023.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379303902537163762" border="0" /></a>Mom and Pa enjoying the spectacular fireworks - ooh, aah.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqcgMkrRl_I/AAAAAAAAABQ/R4IgERxmyeM/s1600-h/IMG_3003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqcgMkrRl_I/AAAAAAAAABQ/R4IgERxmyeM/s320/IMG_3003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379303680293050354" border="0" /></a>And a little shopping in the tourist shops. "See how GREAT you look in it!" I think stores should put that on all their mirrors!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Dad and I hit the casino for a while. The casino band was hilarious. They kept doing these 80's rocker-chic songs but it was a guy with a beer belly that could sing great falsetto! <br /><br />Pa had to choose between high stakes tables for blackjack, or an electronic table with a creepy computer generated dealer. I found it interesting because it would obviously save the casino money over a real dealer, but I wondered if they also programmed it so the casino would win more than normal odds. Dad ended up doubling his money though so it was great for him. I walked up just as he hit the doubled amount so I asked, wasn't he supposed to stop? He called me the gambling Nazi after that because he may have kept on playing if I hadn't caught him. Hey - double or nothing; it's his own rule!! We laughed that I made him lose money because he could have kept going on to win even more... right.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqcmsZxdKdI/AAAAAAAAACI/XJlvExBAyBo/s1600-h/IMG_0275.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqcmsZxdKdI/AAAAAAAAACI/XJlvExBAyBo/s320/IMG_0275.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379310824191764946" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">Saturday, back to the falls. We walked up closer and we could really see the magnitude. We read about several people who have attempted to cross the falls - mostly on purpose, although there was the occasional accident too. As we got closer, I couldn't believe anyone would try it. If you could survive the fall/landing, you have no way of knowing if you'll get out of the whirlpool effect at the bottom, or if you land behind the falls, how would you get out?! From what I read, it looked like the survivals over the years have been about 50%. Not good odds.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqcjUce0XwI/AAAAAAAAABw/n1bbsbrMzF4/s1600-h/IMG_3042.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqcjUce0XwI/AAAAAAAAABw/n1bbsbrMzF4/s320/IMG_3042.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379307114067156738" border="0" /></a>The spray got us very wet as we approached.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqcjUnNRt1I/AAAAAAAAAB4/qiZPJOfHfKE/s1600-h/IMG_3044.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqcjUnNRt1I/AAAAAAAAAB4/qiZPJOfHfKE/s320/IMG_3044.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379307116946372434" border="0" /></a>Look at the bottom of the picture for a better idea of scale. The people are standing on a platform for a closer view. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">One thing that surprised me at the top was that I could actually see the rocky bottom of the lake before the water rushed over the edge. It really isn't that deep up there. The water was a really pretty blue instead of the greenish lake water I'm used to in Iowa. <br /></div></div><br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqcjUFPMN0I/AAAAAAAAABo/4-79UIz0yYA/s1600-h/IMG_3038.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqcjUFPMN0I/AAAAAAAAABo/4-79UIz0yYA/s320/IMG_3038.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379307107827595074" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqcjTp8NBqI/AAAAAAAAABg/H8pEUeGj2wI/s1600-h/IMG_3037.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqcjTp8NBqI/AAAAAAAAABg/H8pEUeGj2wI/s320/IMG_3037.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379307100500199074" border="0" /></a><br />Thanks Mom and Pa for the extra excursion on the way! It was a very fun time.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqcjVMT6PgI/AAAAAAAAACA/94OQjcv8kIY/s1600-h/IMG_3055.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WyNoNgXs4oQ/SqcjVMT6PgI/AAAAAAAAACA/94OQjcv8kIY/s320/IMG_3055.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379307126906306050" border="0" /></a>Best parents in the world.<br /></div></div></div></div>Breehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896395696114840029noreply@blogger.com1