Happy (almost) Holidays!

Life has seemed to take another thwack at us, but luckily, everything is slowly straightening itself out.

About three weeks ago, my mother went to the doctor with some pains. Long, arduous series of tests later, and they found out that she had a humongous tumor in her belly area that needed to be removed. She was promptly taken in for surgery, which lasted twice as long as they told us it would.

Turns out, the tumor was (quoting the surgeon) "the size of a small watermelon."

Just got the results from the biopsy, too - they sent it out to three different labs just to be sure, but it's not cancerous *phew*

I've been the only person around and able to help take care of her (she was cut basically "stem to stern" as she puts it), and that has put a huge cramp in working time. Not that I mind - I love my mother, and I'm glad to help her however I can. It's just that I haven't even checked my email since she went in, much less shipped anything out.

Rectified that this afternoon, however. Shipped a ton of stuffs out. Bought a ton more leather. And holidays are going to kick ass if you're looking for nerdy goods to give to a loved one :3

So, just a quick update from my land, and wishing you and yours a happy Thanksgiving!

Long time, no see?

I have been meaning to write something here for a while now, but just like with DeviantART, every time I start, I can never find the right words! I hate it when this happens…

I realize I have disappeared again, and I am very sorry for that. I have not responded to any commission inquiries, nor have I been able to work on anything other than little bits for short periods of time. I am behind on a commission that I have to get done as soon as possible (a blue heartless wa-loli that I just need to make the corset for!) and, of course, the pile of emails.

If you hadn't noticed, too, I had closed up my Etsy store for the time being. I could not manage to keep it up, and ship things out, so it is closed until I am able to regain control of my life.

I am very sorry about this. The root of the matter is mostly personal, although I will say that I have been having some serious emotional problems that my doctor advised me to seek treatment for ASAP, and I have been working through them. All in all, I'm thinking people are more understanding if I take longer to get back to working speed than if I no longer lived on this Earth ^^

So, please bear with me, be patient, and I swear, I will be back to sewing amazing cosplay pieces as soon as I can :3

<3 you all!

Happy New Year

Happy 2011 everybody!

We had a wonderful holiday here - we spent the bit before Xmas finishing up our remodel of part of our sewing space, which is fantastic now. I will snap some photos and add them in shortly (because in the near future, I'm sure it will become a disaster area ;)

After Xmas, however, it got a little bad here. I (Sam/Taeliac) wound up in the ER with a bad case of gallstones, which I am finally starting to get over just now. The new year wasn't bad, just slightly drugged out on painkillers to the point where I don't remember much ;) I still do not know when my surgery will be, but I'll be sure to post and take everything down on the site and Etsy store so that people are not angry with how long it takes to get a reply from me ^^;

So, for now, I am playing crazy amounts of catch-up, but still happy.

I hope your 2011 is going swimmingly, and continues to be grand!

A different kind of convention

Heck yeah!



And the man himself, Mr. Gaiman (who has a dream of a voice btw) being "stoic"

Going with your gut

Yesterday, I just felt the need to create something new. I get this urge on a regular basis, but I had an idea that simply wouldn't go away.

I have this fascination with working with squares to create interesting pieces. I think they're oft overlooked in pattern making, due to harsh corners and the like. Either that, or they are very stark, geometric things with pointy corners that scream "I will hurt you!" or somesuch.

I love taking squares, and finding ways to soften them, but still keep the simplicity of angles and shapes in them. I am discovering, over time, that I really am a designer that likes things to be elegant, but look simple, until you really look at it (if that makes much sense).

I am also kind of a minimalist. I absolutely adore ruffles, don't get me wrong, but they seem to never find a home in my designs unless it is specifically "girly" or "frilly." Those designs that I think represent me, as myself, at a given time, tend to be ruffle-less, or detail-less. I'm not sure why, but it may have something to do with this perception that adding those "details over the top" is just a way to hide shoddy construction (this is probably due to one instructor in college who thought that that was truly the solution to any problem for a stage production, which, if you can guess, I didn't get along with very well...).

However, I do not agree with that philosophy. I don't like "hiding" things and hoping that they look okay. If something is not done correctly, I will rip it up and redo it. Hiding is not an option. Now, I know not everyone who does that is trying to hide a mistake, and I am sorry if that is what it comes off as. It is just a personal thing, something I do not like.

And something that surprises me is that I have just come to that realization. I actually am developing, at this time, a "design voice" of my own. I have heard fashion students talk about their "voice" before, and usually just kind of laugh it off - to be honest, most of the time I see those as knock-offs on something else, or really not very original. However, I am starting to understand that. See, my education focused on the construction, patternmaking, and all the other details that go into creation, not the designs. The designs are something given to you by the Costume Designer - your job is to realize the designs, not critique them, not impose your own ideas on them, unless it is the only way to actually take that drawing (and usually a very sloppy drawing at that) and make it as a garment.

It is interesting, then, when I found myself yesterday playing with a skirt idea I had, and just... thinking critically about it. Not from a "does this match the original design" critical thinking, which I am very good at and very used to doing, but more from a "is this me?" angle, which is something very new still.

I spent about an hour playing with the drape of one side of the skirt, just trying to get it right. The back had already dictated the design (which was absolutely nothing like I had originally envisioned when I started) and the front needed to compliment it. The back was totally what I think of when I think of "Sam" or "Taeliac" but the front needed something.

Well, long story short, I redid it many, many times, and it was worth it to explore, however, the first one that I truly liked, I wound up marking the placement with safety pins, and it was what wound up being the one I was most satisfied with.

So. When designing, play around. Experiment. But, let your gut tell you what is truly you. Don't be afraid to rip it out, play some more, but if nothing avails, come back to that 'gut' moment, and take a step back. It seems to be your gut telling you that this is you, and go with it.


I do hope that made sense, too. Rambling away and all ;P

Days of Sewing

I just thought I'd post a little random tangent for the heck of it.

Ya know, I really do love sewing. So much so, that it's actually a surprise how much I like it when I haven't done it for a long time.

I am currently battling my way through a stack of Kimona Wraps - some on order, some just because I have the fabric. I have ten of them sitting almost-completed in a heap, and it makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside to actually get to make something like this, how lucky I am that I get to do this, even if I can barely pay my bills.

Because, I truly believe that if you're not happy with what you're doing, it's not worth you doing.

So, today, I am happy. And that is all :3

Corsets

I think I have hit my stride.

I know what I love to create for fun, for distraction, for the sheer joy of it all.

I am officially a corset-obsessed person. If you thought I was before, well, I was, but now, I've been thinking long and hard about what truly makes me happy, and for some reason, nothing compares to the utter joy that comes with finishing a corset, seeing it on a form or body, and just reveling in it. Finishing a big costume order (or even a small one) is always a joy, but it's more of an exhausted, "I can't believe I made that" kind of joy, not the kind that feeds back into itself, giving me more energy and motivation to push even further, make something new, and see what can be done.

So, please expect to see many a corset from here on in, and a bit less on the cosplay/costume end of things. They are now my joy, my happiness, and I certainly hope that I can make a career just out of creating those buggers ;3

Phew!

Well, a couple of scary weeks there are finally under wraps - my computer (and my only way to access my email, price list, bookmarks, and photos) was acting really wonky... well, "wonky" doesn't even describe it.

Inspirations at all hours

Sometimes, I wonder about myself.

See, I have this unconditional need to create. I can't fight it, and I actually think it's getting to the point of being manic... for example, last night around 9:45, getting ready to go to sleep, checking emails and the like, I was hit with an idea that I just had to try, involving jewelry stuffs and leather.

Instead of doing like most people and writing it down and trying it today, I ran down into my work space and dug out all of my leather scraps and jewelry supplies and made the necklace. It's like I cannot fight this urge to do something, and now, since the initial one last night was such a phenominal success, I'm going to go crazy this weekend and make more of them!

See? I just can't control myself. I should be sewing (I just found two wa-loli outfits half completed on a pile, when trying to find my leather for this project last night...) and I should be answering emails (I've let them go way longer than even I like them to go, and it's starting to keep me awake at night...) but I'm not!

I should also be working on my business plan more - I've hit a standstill with financials and the marketing plan, but, of course, I'm not!

I should be taking pictures of all of the stuff I've gone on random tangents to make (such as those obi belts (but Steampunk varieties), all of the miniature cocktail hats I made a few weeks ago on a similar binge, and quite a few bustles/other pieces of clothing I haven't even thought of in a week!) but I just can't bring myself to ... do ... anything but make what's in my head right now.

Is this the bane of being a creative person? Or, is there something about  me that just means I cannot sit still and just do what needs to be done? What is it?

Does anyone else out there get like this? What do you do? How do you deal with it? I worry that this may be a manifestation of some underlying problem with myself, but I honestly have no idea.

Slice cutter

Well, today was interesting, and I'll keep the long rambling to myself, but suffice to say my mother has an idea for an art project/collage she wants to work on that involves flowers and origami, and we ran around to every craft store in the area trying to find just generic punches in flowers and leaves.

With no success, we wound up at Michaels (craft store) and saw something new - a Slice cutter by Making Memories. We were debating the merits of buying a Cricut machine, which I can't justify spending the money on, especially since you need to go 3rd party for the ability to create your own designs (it's basically a giant paperweight without my being able to custom-make designs, or a "just for fun" kind of thing... ironically, I don't like scrapbooking, but that's besides the point ;P) when we saw the Slice cutter.

Now, it did everything my mother needed it to do, and I found a pretty cartridge that was all swirls (something that I couldn't find with the Cricut, either) - and, in the end, it's significantly cheaper (retail is $150 for the machine, and $40 for the cartridges, but they were all 30% off). We figured, if it worked for her art project, we'd be happy (and my swirls would just be icing on the cake!)

I am happy to say that it's quite a bit of fun. Following the instructions is utterly vital, though, as we blew through a lot of paper just trying it out without putting the goo down on the glass mat. But, it's easy to use, and fun, even if you don't do scrapbooking (hint: you'll see some corsets with heat-set vinyl shortly, methinks)

If you're thinking of it, though, buy the hands-free set that they have, too - we're going back tomorrow to see if they have it, because holding it in place becomes ... well, a bit of a challenge, to say the least.

Otherwise, I have to say I'm rather happy with this little gadget, and I hope it helps my mother with her project, too... ya know, since she bought it for her own use ;P

Day Trippin'

Today was a good day, up until now at least.

We've spent this afternoon driving around looking at a few locations - a couple of storefronts for rent that I may be able to afford, and, even better, two locations that we may actually be able to afford to buy that have both retail and living space together!

One of them is really amazing, and I'm very excited to get to see it on the inside. Don't know if we'll be able to actually move into somewhere, and I know I've posted about looking at locations before, but it's always something new, something happy.

So, my one bit of advice if you're looking to open a business: Keep your eyes open, and don't get too caught up in emotion from one spot to another - there is always bound to be something new in a few months, and you never know from one year to the next what is out there.

The important thing is is to never give up, never stop looking, and eventually things'll work out for you. Just don't quit!

New Personal Costume

So, I have not made a piece of cosplay for myself in quite some time - I actually think that the last one I have done was our xxxHolic outfits from a few years ago.

I have a hard time finding outfits I'm comfortable with making for myself, because, for as popular and acceptable as cosplay has become as a whole, a lot of the people who do it are getting more and more narrow-minded. It is not uncommon to see someone (such as myself) ripped apart for not being a traditional size for cosplay (such as between a US 2 and 8, which seems to be the acceptable sizes for the most part). I can brush a lot of that off, but I definitely can admit that it has affected my personal choices in cosplaying, and even choosing to do it any more feels like sticking my neck out.