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Seeing, Doing ~
New energy, new ideas, new directions!
 ~ From theTextile Clothing Technology Corp. (TC2) comes word about the SEAMS Spring Conference Growing U.S. Manufacturing: i Overcoming the Challenges", April 23-25, in N. Carolina. The event is expected to attract professionals from across the textile, apparel and sewn-products supply chain. Manufacturers, brands, retailers and suppliers will be there. If you want to scale up, you have to learn how -- this does it. Savvy players build business equity by participating in the garment industry. Going it alone is romantic but doomed to low growth.
~ Then go to the Library, if you don't subscribe, and check out the March 23 issue of the New Yorker for the incredible story of the recent discovery of "Twenty-One Dresses" by Callot Soeurs (Callot sisters) in a trunk in a Florentine villa. They are priceless and document the transition in couture from the straight cut of the 1920's to the bias of the 1930's -- Madeleine Vionnet was their head seamstress and her concepts began
then. Pray they tour.  ~ Next, whatever video tech thing you use, know that you have to track the debut of two documentaries that are going to hit screens soon: The Eye Has to Travel, about Diana Vreeland, and Dior and I, about Christian Dior and his House. And don't miss Iris Apfel's documentary too -- it makes you feel immortal, all good.
~ Keep viewing, get a snack,
and tune to The Making of a Coat by Rory Duffy, one video after another on the tailoring process -- these videos may save a classy industry if we can get millenials on board here. And while you're deep into tailoring -- remember, you have to do it in the summer so you can wear it in the winter -- and see MEN OF THE CLOTH, Three Masters, A Vanishing Craft, which premieres in Boulder,Colorado; Columbus, Ohio, and Chicago in April and May. Ask Vicki to let you know when it comes to your area.
~ Don't get up, just move on to Aesthetic vs Technical Fit, a solid piece of serious video on fit, marketing and how they are related. Newcomers to all this somehow get the idea that the customer worries about fit in the dressing room -- big error -- it's your business problem.
 ~ Now, for action -- THE WORLD'S BIGGEST TEXTILE AND SEWING GARAGE SALE!!!! It's the 15th annual from the Textile Art Center on Saturday, April 11 -- opens 9AM, in Minneapolis at 883 29th Ave. Costs a $1. You could go in there and come out with a living! Boom, done. |
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Spring Sale!!!
It's spring, so there is:
~ The Victorian Skirt Dress Form, adjustable for anyone and every style, is now 60% off the price online! It is perfect for ball gowns, wedding dresses, prom and, of course, theater costume depts. Delivers instant drama skirts! Send me an email if you want it.
~ Books -- my out of print duplicates as I thin the library. A separate email will be sent when a complete list is prepared. If you are looking for a specific out-of-print book, let me know and I'll see if it's in the stacks. A sizable donation will also go to California College of the Arts Library.
~ Such a deal from Alvanon -- their 1/2 scale dress form! I have 3 of these and they are dreamy -- so perfectly shaped, with legs!! $300.00 $150.00, Missy 6 / 8 / 10 -- (Website is under construction so call first.)
* Easy pinning with linen covered soft memory foam body
* Torso shape with legs cut at mid-thigh
* Portable hanging stand included
17" total in height. Shipping: $50 Flat Rate (US Only) Or, pickup in NYC: Free! Call 212-868-4318 Ext.0, after checkout, to schedule.
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New Sewing Businesses, Always to be Celebrated . . .
 ~ Went to Ashland, Oregon, recently to help Diane Ericson, a fellow Swede, inaugurate her new design studio/shop with a class on my pleating passion and the place was so wonderful -- like the driving force herself! Loads of space, a hot local group of creative folks, 2 fabric shops in town and talent everywhere. It's one of the few small towns where you can go for fun day and night -- they're theater famous! Get on her mailing list and be a regular.
~ Then, went up to
 Eugene to check out L'Etoffe Fabrics, the fabulous creation of Ina Mounir -- she's a star! Young, very savvy about couture fabrics, high standards & skills, a warm heart and part of a team in nearby Springfield that is making the town their own. There is a sewing studio, a quilt shop across the street and a great brewery right there -- it's a hub for us, perfect! Sign up for her list too. P.S. She'll be our first brick & mortar retail pattern location! |
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Next Up for CFPD
~ I'll be doing Diane's Design Outside the Lines Retreat in Ashland in late May -- all about the Perfect Summer Dress so, naturally, I am deep into summer dresses -- so civilized and pleasant, a definite statement in this wacky world. New patterns will spring from that this summer. Then, back to an old obsession, mystery skirts, Charles James-like, for fall with longer lengths (not floor) that just seem to make more sense now -- there's an elegant authority about them, very handy in the working world if you have to direct something.
~ And, in case you have been prevaricating about the Draping book, here's why it is a treasure: Half the book is how-to for basic draping, like the asymmetrical top and pants below; the other half is how-to for 12 iconic designer masterpieces, like the Vionnet dress -- all in photographic detail with instructions, a DIY really great thing! 244 pages, hundreds of photos.
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Lastly, each year in the Spring I end the letter with a poem my great grandfather wrote. He was a Swedish immigrant who came to America just after WWI, an inventor who worked making lenses -- his spiritual feelings for nature touch us all.
My Religion
by
John O. Jansson
(Translated from Swedish by his daughter, Saga Low)
You will not find it amongst old and moldy scriptures,
Though painstakingly produced by kindly monks.
It does not tell about Jehovah's deeds and wishes
And does not mention crosses, blood or sacraments.
But you will find it in our nature's garden,
A trust, a love in which you have a part,
That makes your body full of goodness
And brings a tune to every singer's heart.
But we forget the blessings nature gives us.
Our foremost thought is chasing gold,
And we forget when age and sorrow hit us
And we discover, we are getting old.
But you will find it in our nature's gardens.
A trust, a hope, a love in every human heart
That makes your body filled with goodness
And brings a tune to every singer's heart.
May we then remember the poets' dream,
The whisper of the trees in the forest,
The colorful wildflowers on the hillside,
And the water dripping from the stream.
To Spring!
Sandra Ericson
Center for Pattern Design
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