Christmas Project

Asian Persuasian

A couple more ring projects...

Creative Mojo

Finally, making product again. Spending many weeks organizing and arranging, I had a small fear that I wouldn't have the creative mojo after it was all done! But thank goodness I still really enjoyed my sewing today.
Here's some photo's of the super, zen, square into circle now octagon, origami, peacock, floor, chair, meditation, zafu cushions I made.

Memory Lane of Tim Gunn in 2007

    Fashion has always been a major interest of mine, so when there was going to be a mock Project Runway at my works' next annual convention, I had to compete!
    5 people who were selected including myself from each of the dozen or so divisions. I was apart of the Women's Ready To Wear division who had a lot of pressure because the design had to be a women's dress.  We had an hour to create one dress pinned to a mannequin bodice using only materials provided and the whole process was filmed and edited to look like a reality show of Project Runway.
    Tim Gunn was actually a guest speaker at the event and was going to judge fashion designs by each divisional group. It was the most exciting convention our company has had. Clips of our "show" would play throughout the convention catching all the commotion behind the scenes. My favorite was of our team member Steve dressed as a transvestite wrapped up in yards of fabrics and a wig, giving an impromptu interview of how "she" designs for the World.
    Finally towards the end of the event, each group was interviewed by the panel of judges (CEO Robert Mettler, our Women's Fashion Director Tifani Wilt and of course Tim Gunn.) No doubt he was dealing with amatures and was going easy on us, but the competition was... quite fierce! Well, to the point I wouldn't be reminiscing on this exciting time in my life if we didn't win! The prize? A bobble head of Tim Gunn himself that I got signed!

Oribello design flashback

A shot of one of my fashion designs included at the 2005 Urbanology event held in the bay area.

Brought my sewing machine to Vegas!

While in Las Vegas visiting my mom and best gal pal Raquel, I'm proud to have gotten some sewing done! Since they fortunately still have their jobs, I kept myself busy during the days doing 4 projects; a customers' order for 2 dog kimonos and a hakama, a queen size quilt, a shift dress and a new bag design.

Beautiful Day at The Doggie Dash

It was a sunny day in the park in Stockton at the Doggie Dash and it was a success! They had a dog obstacle course, best kiss, best trick, best dressed, food, vendors and bands! What a fun time and our booth was beautiful and filled with goodies with jewelry, window charms, blown glass and my Oribello line. I worked hard up until late the night before sewing and prepping for my 1st time selling my new line at a public venue. I just finished uploading the rest of the items on www.oribello.etsy.com I feel myself growing with every new project!

My First Event, The Doggie Dash

The glorified shed we've been building is almost finished and I am impressed with the workmanship and quality that was put into it. Definitely something we all are very proud of and it's starting to shine on the side of our hill.
Living in the country is awesome! I don't think I'll ever tire of our view of the lake in the distant, rolling hills as far as the eyes can see and the storybook sunsets every evening. Also, the country zoo has been exciting on the property too; deer, baby rabbits, 1" frogs, horn toads, coyotes, spiders, lizards, hawks, vultures, quayls and all sorts of other birds. They also tell me scorpions sometimes make into the house and we have to shake out anything on the floor if we pick it up. Yes, I'm worried and will probably freak out the day I see one.
I've been squeezing sewing projects into the schedule as much as possible. My line of product will be on sell for the first time at an SPCA event in Stockton, the Doggie Dash, on June 6th... tomorrow! I've since created 4 quilted blankets with fabric origami appliques, 2 jewelry boxes made from vegetable steamers lined with fabric, 6 dog kimonos in all different color and print combinations, 4 sets of Koi fish earrings, 2 dog pads or floor pillows and today, hopefully I'll finish making dog collars and leashes that are trimmed in printed fabrics. I better get started, but here's some pictures I took.

A New Routine

It's been a week since being laid off and so far it feels like a long weekend. The last day of my job was also the last day of my lease in SF, so I was preoccupied with moving logistics rather than soaking up my last moments in cube-land and saying goodbyes to colleagues.
I now live on a couple of acres atop a beautiful big hill with breathtaking views about 2-3 hours east of SF. True to living the country life, I've been waking up around 7:00am every morning to start my days. I'm helping to build our storage shed and got my first experience grading land, framing and pouring concrete. Doing this kind of work made me so sore, I realized what sitting behind a desk has done to me physically. I feel stronger and I can't wait to see the end result of the shed.
And of course there's sewing going on... I've started working on sewing 4 blankets simultaneously. The fabric is cut and I've been sewing my oribello origami applique flowers on the corner of the blankets. A nice detail to look and feel when wrapped up under the blankets, while watching TV or reading a book.

More Fashion Photography of My Purses

Yay! I just got pictures from Erin Wilson of our Fashion photo shoot with our model Sheila Burns! Another beautiful day in the city, where we chose to shoot near the Exploratorium and in the Marina. It was one of the hottest 1st day of the summer and Sheila was a champ making dress changes in impromptu locations and continuing to look fresh the whole day through. I think Erin did a fab job with photography. I'm going to post the new shots on ETSY now, but here's a sneak peak of a few of the shots taken! Enjoy!

 

Golden Gate Park Photoshoot

I'm so excited about the new product shots that were taken by Erin Wilson at the Golden Gate Park yesterday! The sun was out and the flowers were in full bloom, a perfect backdrop to my colorful Oribello bags. The bags were a hit with women who passed by, I didn't know a photo shoot can bring such good promotion! I spent all night working with my friend Jordan Joves on a business card design so next Sunday when we do the fashion shots, we'll be prepared! I'll be updating my ETSY shop with the new pics right away, these are a few of my favorites!

I've gotten some feedback from potential buyers that they would love to see overnight bags, leather or high end materials, bigger zippers, more pockets and zipper pulls. I'm definitely taking note and plan to incorporate all of these things into my next round of bags! Thanks for the suggestions and keep them coming!