tiinateaspoon

Pattern Cutting - Dennic Chunman Lo

2011-11-25T21:20:00.001Z

Pattern Cutting - Dennic Chunman Lo
There is an absolutely lovely new pattern cutting book by Dennic Chunman Lo. He's very good indeed at explaining why things are usually done a certain way, and the aide memoire section is a delight for absentminded me. This book would be great for any students of pattern cutting.

Knivskjellodden

2011-08-29T20:45:00.007+01:00

Being related to a geographer means looking at: northernmost points, a variety of peatbogs, cool rocks, and other amazing geological features.
These are pictures from our hike to the northernmost point of mainland Europe, on the Knivskjellodden peninsula. The cool colours are due to the film being 10 years out of date. I'm glad it still worked!

Almost 9km from the car park...

Looking towards Nordkapp across the Barents sea.

A little rest on the way back.

The weather started to close in.

North

2011-07-30T15:31:00.002+01:00

I've just got back from a journey around the north of Europe, visiting Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Somewhat epic! Here's where I'll be posting the photos as I get them finished.

With only 10kg of hand luggage to keep us going for almost 3 weeks I have been learning to travel light; which means plastic cameras! A Diana and Holga traveled along with me, as well as a little pocket 35mm Canon Prima.

As for the places, they're breathtaking; I'm lost for words and I don't think my photos will do justice either.

Overlooked

2011-05-16T21:56:00.003+01:00

Deyan and I are dueling again over at photoduels
It's almost the end of the school year, the fashion show; then my brain is returned.

White project

2011-03-03T21:40:00.004Z

Just a little sketchbook work from the start of a new project, thinking around the word 'white'.
More images here...

Norwegian Wood poster design competition

2011-02-27T16:35:00.005Z

This gorgeous poster has been designed by my amazingly talented sister Heidi. It's entered into a competition to have the poster displayed in the Curzon Soho cinema in London! If you have a spare minute or two I would really appreciate you registering and voting for her design, or passing the link along. Voting ends really soon!
p.s. I can't wait to see the film if it's anything at all like the book.

Growing lichen

2011-01-23T23:23:00.002Z

I have many photos and snippets from happenings in my life that it would be lovely to share with you. What I am terrible at is making time to edit/resize/compose them all into a palatable form. Life is trundling forwards and I feel if I stand still for too long I will start growing lichen. I think it's important to look back and reflect, but I combine this, unplugged, with long walks in the woods. If I didn't, I wouldn't have taken this photograph of lichen.

Creative pattern cutting workshop

2010-11-21T21:00:00.003Z

In collaboration with EtsyUK join Tiina Burton, a.k.a. tiinateaspoon (a.k.a. me!), for a fun day of experimental pattern cutting. Suitable both for beginners and those wishing to learn new approaches, we'll start simply by adding volume to basic patterns, then play creatively with abstract shapes and ideas to create forms. You can create samples to take home, and will be shown how the patterns you create could be used to assemble garments.

When: Saturday, November 27, 2010. 10am - 5pm.

Where: Oh Sew Brixton, 12d Piano House, 9 Brighton Terrace, Brixton, London, SW9 8DJ.

How: £10 per person to cover materials. To reserve your place, contact Fiona Douglas on 07710 242 933.

Geosophy

2010-11-18T21:58:00.003Z

Geosophy - MA Fashion design by Jane Herzog
Photography by me, Tiina
Modeled by Anna Herzog

Jane is the fashion course director at Cambridge School of Visual and Performing Art; and I was honoured to be allowed to photograph her amazing collection.

The whole set of photographs can be seen Here

Exploring light and dark

2010-09-04T23:53:00.003+01:00

A year ago I stopped shooting digital to properly concentrate on using film. I have processed quite a lot of film at home now, and I think I might finally be getting somewhere...
I love the slowness of the journey. Each tidbit of knowledge takes time to become ingrained and second nature.
These photographs arrived through my Diana camera, which I adore (even though the back likes to fall off and spoil film). It is light as a feather and the shutter clunks like an awkward teenager. Each photograph is a wisp of a thing. I hope you enjoy my holiday pictures.

emilythepemily

2010-08-01T11:00:00.000+01:00

I'm just back from a wonderful holiday in Finland with plenty of catching up to do and film to soup. A perfect time to share a fabulous artist...

I bought lots of goodies from Emily at the Wemake fair in London, she is fab! I adore her tea inspired work of course; her deirdre the tea lady tshirt is very cool indeed!
You can find her Etsy shop here.

We make London fair

2010-06-29T20:05:00.003+01:00

I spent last Saturday helping out on the UK Handmade magazine stall at the We make fair, and saw soooo many beautiful things to buy! I also happened to be caught on video whilst hyper on cola :D

2010 fashion show

2010-06-29T18:44:00.004+01:00

The fabulous CSVPA fashion show 2010: once upon a time! This year's special collection was set by Burberry and the theme was "Authenticity". The CSVPA annual fashion show features work created by our Art & Design Foundation and BA Fashion students. The students, and staff (like me!) worked really hard to make the show as fabulous as possible.

Spring

2010-04-18T00:50:00.004+01:00

Last winter was colder than many I remember. It has been harder than ever to re-awaken this year; moving house in February made me want to hibernate even more.
My lovely friend Deyan has kicked me into gear with a photo duel, on the theme of spring: The Photo Duels
I am pushing myself to take photographs. I made myself buy a new (to me) camera; it feels like heaven to use; a tank of a thing, a 'proper' camera.

I am in charge. Any mistakes are my own. I want to move forward. Fingers crossed!

Mono

2009-12-13T16:18:00.003Z

In this hectic time of year I've been very lucky to join a printmaking class at work. Producing prints just for fun is hugely liberating; no deadlines or worrying about grades or commercial value, just mess and giggles! I truly loved making these monoprints, and the block prints which will follow once they're dry.

In other news I can now be found on Twitter; and Last.fm radio where I happily listen to music whilst I work.
Have a wonderful winter.

Thought

2009-10-12T18:59:00.009+01:00

{Found eggshells photograph taken with a Polaroid 250 Land camera.}

...

"Does knowing mean nothing to you, unless somebody else knows that you know it?"

{Persius, Satires, I, xxiii; via Michel De Montaigne, On Solitude.}

Reading On solitude I'm amazed how truly timeless Michel De Montaigne's words and ideas are; given that he was writing during the Renaissance, they are as fresh as today.
Plus the new penguin book covers are beautifully purple and tactile.

Time to turn the page

2009-10-04T13:29:00.003+01:00

I am at my best when experimenting joyously, so I've been playing with simple sleeves. Fabric is such a wonderful medium for me because it bends to the form inside it, jersey especially. I can play with shapes, volume, and develop from there. The sketches shown are the very first iteration of 'what if...?'

I also reopened my Etsy shop last night. I'm back and feel stronger than ever! There will be huge changes in the next few weeks, one is that I have a new printer... the rest; time will tell.

Tallinn

2009-09-05T17:08:00.005+01:00

Doors close and doors open. The air is feeling autumnal. I am being gentle on myself.

I love Tallinn; both its beauty and its age. Everything had changed so much since I was last there 14 years ago, it now has shiny, expensive, tourist areas! The shots I took are happysnaps, practicing using my Lubitel camera again. Now I can focus by guessing the distance between myself and the subject... the Lubitel's focusing screen is terrible!

Hands

2009-08-21T15:05:00.003+01:00

A thousand years, you said,
as our hearts melted.
I look at the hand you held,
and the ache is hard to bear.
(Lady Heguri)

These hands are mountainous.

Collecting myself

2009-08-18T12:55:00.005+01:00

4 weeks, 4 countries later and I'm waiting for my soul to return along the silvery thread of jet lag. There's lots of catching up to do and film to soup.
These bits were found on some of the long walks I took along the way.

A deep breath

2009-06-06T22:27:00.004+01:00

Aaaah...
Thanks to Heidi for taking me to see Yann Tiersen recently, it was a beautiful gig. Matt Elliott was supporting with truly mesmerising songs.
I hope you enjoy Erik Satie too! This is some of the music I listen to whilst I work.
p.s. I'm still not smoking! Thanks to everyone for the support.
xxx

Mayday

2009-05-04T19:46:00.002+01:00

A little random collection a few days late...

One of my best friends is running 10k for the charity Prostate UK. If anybody would like to sponsor her the link is here
This is close to my heart as my dad has prostate cancer, so bless you Liz for doing this!

It's been a tough few days as I gave up smoking. It's taken patches, 4 large bars of dark chocolate, 1/3 of a key lime pie and a big helping of chocolate soup; so far so good! (Though I feel like I'm going crazy most of the time, and am cross that I can't get anything done.)

For those that might need it, I thought I'd share my Grandma's wonderful chocolate soup recipe...

Suklaa puuroa

Ingredients
500ml milk
4 heaped tablespoons sugar
1 heaped tablespoon plain flour
1 heaped tablespoon cornflour
3 heaped tablespoons cocoa powder
A little butter

1. Spread a little butter on the bottom of a saucepan (to stop things sticking).
2. Put all the dry ingredients together in the saucepan.
3. Mix a little milk in to make a paste, then add the rest of the milk.
4. Heat gently, stirring often.
5. When it starts to bubble and thicken, keep cooking for a few more minutes.
6. Put the pan into cold water to cool. Stir constantly (this is to stop lumps forming).
7. Enjoy!!!

Lastly, thank you to the peeps at Etsy for showing my Kolme dress in this storque article

Hibernation

2009-04-27T21:35:00.006+01:00

I hadn't realised how long I'd been gone, time has slipped away from me. That's not to say I haven't been busy though; I have been plotting far too many grand schemes, quietly, quietly.
I finally finished my first book of photography, 'Personal (squared)'; gathering my square photos with a human element together to form a story of life and love. Signed copies will be appearing in my shop very soon!

I've also been tagged by the wonderful Sand Fibers and fontainefleurie, so here's 16 things you didn't really need to know about me...

1. Apparently I giggle a lot.
2. I love my day job!
3. Is my favourite number.
4. When I was little I wanted to be a professor of mathematics.
5. I wasn't good enough at maths!
6. I'd be better at it if I could remember things, my memory is truly terrible.
7. I can read a book and instantly forget what happened in it.
8. So I write myself lots of notes (then forget where I put them).
9. I try to be positive.
10. Sometimes I'm scared and shy.
11. I like to daydream
12. and stay in bed for as long as possible.
13. I can't wait to be older; I'll be an eccentric old lady with purple hair!
14. I made a book, with my heart and soul.
15. I'm looking forward to the future.
16. This wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be.

Endings

2008-09-25T20:34:00.006+01:00

Many things have ended for me in the past few months; my twenties(!), summer, and a wonderful duel.

Mostly though, I'd love to show you the duel on Neosynthesis.net
My sparring partner was the amazing Deyan and our theme was Food! The idea is to follow each other's photos, challenging and inspiring one another, with everyone winning in the end. Some of my best photos have been products of Deyan-duels, (this was our third so far).
I always have so many ideas, some of which just don't fit during the course of the duel. Here's my never-seen-before reject for the finale...

{Aurevoir mon petit choufleur}
Taken with a vintage polaroid camera and expired polaroid film.

A huge thank you to Deyan for being an inspiration as always. If you've not seen his truly awe-dropping photography before you can also find his prints at deviantart (I'm lucky to have some gracing my own walls.)

And lastly, my stock of polaroid film is running low. I can't quite comprehend that the film itself is being discontinued :( For more info see save polaroid.

Songs which bring tears to my heart...

2008-05-25T23:39:00.005+01:00

Through love, revolution, inspiration. I want to keep them safe, and not forget.

Solace

2008-05-10T20:18:00.006+01:00

The standing stones at Avebury have been a constant for millennia, and I take solace in the fact that some things are persistent. It leaves me wondering what my rock is, my constant, after so many things have changed for me in the past year. Some things have transformed for the best, others are harder to bear.

My very old CRT computer monitor has not been unceasing, and finally gave in to mortality a week or so ago. It's been replaced with a flat, un-desk-hogging LCD monitor. Looks good but... the depth of colour is all wrong, too flat. I've spent hours calibrating it to little avail.
I feel as if I'm flying blind, and have put photography on hold til I'm comfortable with it. The Avebury photo is a first tentative step.

I've been rummaging in my archives, inspired by Wooldancer's Urban Excavation Effect - finding forgotten things that may be useful (Wooldancer explains it far better than I can). I have a computer and external hard drive full to the brim with photos, and very nearly no space for new ones. Some serious de-cluttering is in order, especially as some of the photos have never really been looked at, just filed away for a less busy day.

This Lubitel film one of those, shot in February 2007. In excavating the photos I'm also unearthing memories... The scouring wind and cold of a winter's day. The feeling of being amongst these ancient stones, touching their deeply textured surface, absorbing their inherent spirituality. Then the cosy pub afterwards, with wonderful company all along.
I'm reminded of a previous visit too, a summer day filled with tourists, sheep grazing amongst the stones.

Enough reminiscing for one day, it's time for one constant in my life, a nice cup of tea!

Dyeing with tea

2008-04-19T13:30:00.009+01:00

I've been meaning to share some of my natural dye experiments for a while... Starting with tea! Black tea (Latin name Camellia sinensis) produces colours from the palest beige through to grey, brown and almost black. Different varieties of tea produce different colours too! It's a fantastic way to recycle tea after a nice cuppa.

{Tea top row: cellulose fibres - viscose jersey, cotton muslin, cotton plain weave}
{Bottom row l-r: Silk pongee, wool fibres, cellulose fibres}

The basics
First drink lots of tea! Save the leaves or tea bags (I freeze mine in a ziplock bag) until you have enough. You'll need about the same weight of tea as fibre.

Always use rubber gloves for dyeing, and never use utensils afterwards for food.

Boil up the tea in water for about an hour. Use a stainless steel or enamel pan that's only used for dyeing.
Meanwhile wash your fibre to remove any dressings/grease. I use a special detergent called synthrapol but you can also use washing up liquid. For wool and other protein fibre handwash gently. For cotton and other cellulose fabric you can use a washing machine (fibre/yarn is probably best handwashed too). Leave your fibre wet.

Remove the tea bags/leaves from the dye bath (either strain it or fish out the bags).
If you're using wool any big change in temperature can make it felt, so either cool the dyebath down, or slowly wash the wool in warmer and warmer water.

Immerse your fibre in the dyebath and very slowly bring the lot to a boil (or a gentle simmer for silk). Stir regularly and gently until it's been boiling for around an hour, then turn off the heat and let it soak until cooled (keep stirring though).
Wash your fibre with detergent until the water runs clear, then dry out of direct sunlight.

You can re-use your dyebath a good few times, each time the colour will be lighter.

{Tea + Iron L-R: Silk pongee, wool fibres, wool fibres, cellulose fibres}

Mordants
Tea is a substantive dye so it doesn't need a mordant to help the colour hold fast. Different mordants will change the colour though. Alum mordant is great for wool and silk . For cotton etc. I've tried combinations of alum and tannin with soda ash. These are all done before the fibre is dyed.

You can also add iron to the dyebath for the last 15 minutes. Iron darkens (saddens) the colours, yay!

I've chosen these mordants as they're the safest to use; but always wear rubber gloves, and a mask when handling powders.

More experiments...
Rust dyeing can be combined with tea dye. These cotton plain weave samples were rusted with iron wire for a week, then overdyed with tea.

For more information and natural dye supplies...

Websites:

naturaldyes.org
aurora silk
earthues
dharma trading
fibrecrafts

Books:
(I've only included books which I own and have read.)

Natural dyes - Linda Rudkin (ISBN 978-0-7136-7955-7)
A great book which covers lots of aspects of natural dyeing, with plenty of sample pictures too! If I could only have one book on natural dyes this would be it.

The dyer's companion - Dagmar Klos (ISBN 1-931499-51-9)
A fantastic basic textbook covering natural and synthetic dyes.

A dyer's manual - Jill Goodwin (ISBN 0-9544401-0-2)
Doesn't have many sample colour pictures, but includes a long list of plants, the parts used, and the colours they may yield.

The craft of natural dyeing - Jenny Dean (ISBN 085532744-8)
A lovely book with good pictures. Not a must-have though, but a nice addition.

A dyer's garden - Rita Buchanan (ISBN 1-883010-07-1)
Useful if you're planning to grow your own dye plants, including which ones not to grow!

Dye plants and dyeing - John and Margaret Cannon (ISBN 1-871569-74-5)
Beautifully illustrated with botanical drawings. Great background reading for the biology of plant dyes.

Natural dyes, fast or fugitive - Gill Dalby (ISBN 0-9525274-0-5)
A scientific look at light and wash fastness of natural dyes, with recipes and information on how to test your dyed fibres at home.

Rust and Clay dyeing - Kimberly Baxter Packwood
A lovely book for those wishing to experiment with rust, and from a great Etsy seller too!

Printing with dye

2008-04-13T09:45:00.007+01:00

I haven't screen-printed anything for many years, but I've been itching to have another go. I decided to use procion dye as ink as I have lots of it, in every colour imaginable! I also like the way it sinks into the fabric leaving the handle unchanged, merging with the colour already there rather than sitting on top.
Obviously this won't work on dark fabrics... for that you can use a discharge paste (to bleach the colour out).

I'm not able to make photo stencils yet, so the cheap and cheerful method is to use a cut paper stencil. I chose greaseproof paper (baking parchment) as it's easy to see a drawing through and doesn't disintegrate easily when wet. I also wanted to see whether fine details could be achieved.

Next up was preparing the printing mixture... I won't give specific amounts because I can't remember them! The thickener usually comes with instructions anyway. I used manutex to thicken water until it was gloopy. The dye concentrate was made up separately, and consisted of dye powder, soda ash, and enough water to make it liquid (there may have been salt too). Finally I mixed about a cup of manutex with a tablespoon or two of the dye, and added some calgon (to stop the mix being gummy and clogging up the screen). You can also use urea to stop the mix drying too fast (and clogging up the screen).

Now to print! I ran off lots of samples on different fabrics to see what would happen. On plain weave white cotton it printed perfectly, yay!

On un-scoured cotton calico the dye wasn't absorbed evenly, giving a distressed look, which I love! Sometimes it pays not to wash fabric first. :D I over-dyed it with tea afterwards.

On thick cotton pinstripe the dye didn't penetrate fully, so the print looks faded (which I also love!) To print 'properly' on thick fabric I could have used a thinner printing mixture.

The print worked well on sheer cotton muslin too. The muslin was dyed first with walnut husks.

To set the dyes they needed to be steamed for 50 minutes, with the fabric rolled up in brown paper. I used an electric food steamer which worked pretty well (don't use it for food again afterwards though!)
Then a huge amount of rinsing and washing with synthrapol (fairy liquid does the trick too), a quick boil and they're cooked!

I've left some printed samples in a bucket of rusty things, hopefully they'll be ready in a week...

Fibrecrafts is a great website for print and dye supplies. They're UK based but ship worldwide.

Finally there's a great book I've been using to swot up on screen printing methods.
Screen printing: the complete water-based system by Robert Adam and Carol Robertson (ISBN 0-500-284253)
It doesn't cover print on textiles at all but if you're printing on paper etc. it's invaluable, for textiles it's still very useful. The methods of making up a screen are the same, and it has lots of juicy info on photo stencils. This book covers everything from the simplest paper stencil print, to setting up a professional printing studio.

Vote Heidi for president :D

2008-03-21T17:54:00.001Z

Etsy Design FaceOff Contest
Originally uploaded by heidillustration

Because every politician should be proud of their inner goblins, not hide them away!
Anyway, my wonderful sis may not be running for office (more like running well away from any office!), but if you get a chance please vote for her in the Etsy Design face-off.
You can see the contest info here!

(Deadline is this Sunday, 23rd March)

Seven random things

2008-03-16T23:15:00.004Z

To the lovely people who have tagged me: Sneddonia, Heidi, Jenna Appleton, and Katrina

1. I enjoy washing clothes. I find satisfaction in reaching the bottom of the laundry basket, and seeing colour-coordinated clothes hanging on the line.

2. My favourite composer is Sibelius. His music is filled with feelings from my history.

3. I sometimes wonder if I'm the only one to choose accordion music as the track for a fashion show. Probably not.

4. I have numbered my random things because I easily lose track. I can't knit patterns with more than 2 stitches, and I once completely forgot how to purl, two stitches after I'd purled.

5. I don't make fashion, I make clothes. There's a big difference to me. Same with art photos and happysnaps. I make things that make me happy.

6. My previous studies included maths and computing, but I was pretty terrible at art. I love writing code but can't get my head around html. I had a 7 year gap year before my fashion degree.

7. I am bored with talking about me :D I'd love to hear a random thing about yourself instead.
7.5 I tend to break rules, sorry! :D

Inspiration and design

2008-03-15T16:37:00.004Z

Portishead - Only you

One of my all time favourite songs, and filmmaking. In some ways it embodies the project I'm trying to work on. The sense of leadenness, the movement of floating. Haunting, longing and loss.
I've been watching it over and over whilst I design, but however I try I can't capture my ideas in a static, drawn form. They lose the ethereality. I hope I can regain that when the clothes are made, as I've tried before.

Vote if you love me!

2008-02-14T21:31:00.006Z

*Update*
My dress came in as a runner up! (It wasn't counted on the highest number of wow votes, but wows as a percentage of all votes.)
Anyhoo, winning wasn't the important part for me, truly. The wonderful comments and votes meant so much to me, thank you for warming my heart.

*Original post*
Or at least if you think my Paper Doll Dress is a WOW! :D
It's the last chance...
Deadline 15th February
(They ask you to register to be able to vote, sorry.)

Bless my mum, she's been clicking through all the entries on Stylemob to see who is winning so far. Apparently it's very close. Apparently I'm just in the lead *faints!* Bless my sister for her amazing pimpage skills *heart!*
I'm truly and utterly amazed by the response to my dress; I'm lost for words!

Meanwhile I've been doing some serious retail therapy...

Fog

2008-02-13T21:16:00.007Z

The world is shrouded in fog, my mind is fog, my heart is fogged.
I've been reminiscing; this photograph is from the past.
Wonderful memories, hopes and dreams for the future, and things that will never be.

So to work. A fresh project to absorb my energy.
As yet untitled

Between the lines

2008-02-11T21:03:00.000Z

It was time to create some new photographs. I've been wanting to do a series for a long time, but my clothing projects have always taken my energy. The concept has been growing, revolving in my brain. Finally a weekend with some sunlight arrived!
The final 14 have been edited down from over 100 photographs, with help and opinions from my special peeps (thank you!)

May I present to you... 'Between the lines'

I wanted to explore the symbolism of objects, and whether we think of them differently when they're combined with other objects. I used fabric to represent the lines I should look beyond, pinstripe and knit, each with their own connotations.
Each object has meanings for me; how I came by them, the memories. In combination they trigger different thoughts within me. All are personal. I love finding out how others interpret them too, each view individual and unique.
I hope you enjoy them!

Each photograph can be found in full on my flickr page, and will soon be available in my shop. :)

Yum, dinner!

2008-02-03T00:30:00.000Z

I could eat gnocchi every night (with a different sauce each time) so I've been trying to cook it myself. I knew getting them just spot on, the perfect fluffiness with doughy goodness, might be tough; and my first try proved me right! Silly me didn't read the recipe properly and they were a sticky (but tasty) mess.
This time I've almost cracked it, by jove! :D Apart from being a bit big, they tasted yummy.

A couple of weeks ago we tried out a lemon curd recipe, and I'm boggling my brain to figure out what to do with a litre of the stuff! So for dessert we made lemon curd muffins. :D
We used a basic muffin recipe, left out the pecans and blueberries and added lemon zest to the mix. We layered the muffin mixture with a big glob of lemon curd in each of the paper cases.
Then fingers crossed!
It worked! Muffins with a gooey, lemony centre!
The house was very quiet whilst we tested them.

That is the end of the long story of dinner. Take care and happy munching!

p.s. Thank you to my parents for giving me all of Delia's 'How to cook' books :D

p.p.s Oh my gosh, colour photos! They looked odd in b&w, sadly. I guess for quick, very hungry photos these will do ;)

Nanopod antler, a lovely present from Heidi!

2008-01-31T21:37:00.001Z

Nanopod antler, a lovely present from Heidi
Originally uploaded by tiinateaspoon

I'm very lucky that my family and friends shop on Etsy! I was given lots of lovely xmas pressies, one of which was this gorgeous necklace from Nanopod
Thank you Heidi!

Belated happy new year!

2008-01-27T22:07:00.001Z

Paper doll dress
Originally uploaded by tiinateaspoon

I'm late, I'm late, I'm very very late!
Where does the time go?

Anyhoo, I have lots of new things in the works :D I've almost finished a new series of photos!
Other things I'm planning to show you... lovely trades and swaps I've received, pattern cutting info, tagging, and plenty more!
I'm tempted to review some of the craft books I've amassed too, anyone interested?

Finally, the dress returns! :D I've entered it into a contest at stylemob.com full of handmade things. If you'd like to vote, I won't complain ;) (though you do have to be a member, drat)
If this dress ever sells I shall faint!

*Hugs!*

The contest

The dress on Etsy

Pocket Utopia opening night

2007-12-02T22:35:00.000Z

I've snuck out of hibernation because I have some fantastic news! A few of my photographs are included in a show full of Etsy artists at a lovely gallery called Pocket Utopia, w00t!
You can find out all about it at their website with pictures on their blog and if you're in the Brooklyn area of USA feel free to pop along (I wish I could!)

Whilst I'm shamelessly pimping :D I was amazed to find one of my dresses in The Storque today!
It reminds me I should take clearer photos though, ouch!
It's the second time they've featured my clothing and my wonderful sister and model, Heidi!

Settling, settling

2007-11-08T21:37:00.000Z

I've moved house at last! I'm still unpacking and finding places to stash all my bits and pieces, but it already feels like home. I feel so lucky; the kitchen is huge and has a professional range cooker in it, and my bedroom has french windows which look down on the garden. Wheee! It's inspired me, especially towards cooking, yum! So far we've made: filo parcels with mozzerella, parmesan and pesto filling; yorkshire puddings (which rose 3 times more than I expected!); bread and butter pudding; fruitloaf; and gnocchi (they looked terrible but tasted yummy).

Otherwise I have lots of catching up to do. Jen and Heidi have tagged me (I haven't forgotten!), and I've been promising to write about the natural dyeing I've been experimenting with. I've also been to some fun pattern cutting lectures through work, I'll share after I've finished my piece and taken photos.

Take care and be well, I'll be back soon with much more!

So quietly busy

2007-09-17T21:28:00.000+01:00

Wonderful things are all happening at once! My first week at work was great, I've been trying to tame a room full of industrial sewing machines amongst other things. Cycling to and from the nearby park-and-ride is tiring me out and hopefully doing good things to my legs (once they stop aching!) And now I've found the most beautiful, perfect little house to rent. I'm keeping my fingers so tightly crossed that it all goes through!

I've not had the time or energy to be online much, but I did manage to take a photograph this weekend. I've been duelling Deyan and this was my final piece... Eternal {Farewell from your eternal cupcake, it's time for me to fly to paradise.}

Happy dance!

2007-09-04T11:09:00.000+01:00

I've been offered a job!
Starting on Monday I'll be a part-time fashion technician at a local college! After finishing my fashion degree I really didn't think I'd get a job in the field (especially as I don't want to commute to London). So I'm incredibly happy! It's all thanks to my sister, who spotted the job in the newspaper. I sent in my CV and within 24 hours the job was mine, wow!
Now to madly run around sorting everything out!

Digital organic

2007-08-28T00:07:00.000+01:00

As a challenge to myself I decided to test my lovely new Nikon D70 camera at Denver botanic gardens. I'm not really a flower person; skeletal flowers, yes, and I'm even tempted to take photos of fake ones! Real, proper flowers have been photographed beautifully by lots of other people though, so the thought doesn't excite me. I wandered around trying really hard to find images which took my fancy.

There and back again

2007-08-11T02:02:00.000+01:00

My holiday number one is sadly over. I've had a truly fantastic time in Colorado, especially once I managed to get there! (Train delays, missed flight, a night at JFK...)
Much relaxing and tea drinking was accomplished, I really needed a total break. One of many highlights for me was an hour spent in a flotation tank (very wonderfully weird indeed) followed by a massage. I've also been doing utterly touristy things and have many, many photos to share (yay!) It's helped me find my creativity again.
Thanks to darling Mike for putting up with me :D and for the donation of a new (to me) camera!
One night at home, then off to Finland. Wippiee jetlag!

The Garden of the Gods was truly stunning, my photos don't do it justice at all. I found it hard to get a sense of scale, the rocks there are massive!
You'll be seeing plenty more photos of rocks from me though! :D

Start wearing purple!

2007-07-07T21:32:00.000+01:00

Just a quickie, but what better reason to start wearing purple than being told to do so by Gogol Bordello?

Oooh yeah :D

Colour

2007-07-02T21:52:00.000+01:00

Each season or so I find a different way to make a colour palette which includes purple. In the past I've been inspired by dairy milk chocolate wrappers, glimmers of light on oilslick hues (when petrol prices shot up, gah!), and the chromatic abberations of old black ink. Any excuse really to use my favourite colour; though in truth it's a particular shade of dusky plum.

Recently I've been returning to nature, using natural dyes to make the most amazing colours. What better time to appreciate them than twilight, when magic is in the air and the heady scent of fragrant blooms swirls around us.
(The photograph is my own, taken with my Holga camera; I dyed the samples of fabric myself too.)

Trends

2007-07-01T22:04:00.000+01:00

I love keeping one eye on happenings out in the big wide world, though I try to stick to my own little path throughout it all. Here I've picked out a few trends which I happened to be a part of anyway. If someone told me I should be making pink things next season, I would carry on regardless! Find the influences that speak to your soul.
Click on the images if you'd like to see them bigger!

The search for meaning, life caching.

Scrapbooking, handmade craft.

One of a kind

Ethics.

Some interesting links:
The fruits of imagination - Handmade
Interview Naomi Klein
Scrapbooking: The new Paste-up
The shift to the raw and the homemade
Inside global fashion trends
Trendwatching
The future laboratory, conscience consumers and the new austerity

Time to vote!

2007-07-01T00:50:00.000+01:00

Vote now on the UK Etsy challenge for June! (Please? :D)
This month's theme is fairytales, and wow there are so many amazing entries to choose from!

The voting thread is here
You can find the flickr group with all the juicy pictures here

Happy voting! I hope you enjoy our creations.
(Just incase you missed it before Cinderella is my entry *wink*)

Inspiration

2007-06-30T17:45:00.000+01:00

A bar of chocolate (dairy milk, large!) is helping my lemonade hangover, so I've decided to share my inspiration. If you've ever wondered what might go into a clothing collection, here's your chance to find out!
In the beginning...
Much brainstorming and tea drinking to come up with a concept, one which could be lived with for at least a year. I've been wanting to combine fashion and my photography, so... How can photography inspire clothing design?! tada!

This evolved into 'why do I take pictures of certain things?'
For myself it's reliving emotions from the past reflected in the present, allegories of private thoughts and feelings. A response to my culture and thousands of years of family history; that of living memory, through stories told, to the whispering of the world around us.

The environment, my surroundings, have always influenced me. I've grown up in England but also spent some time in Finland. I'm intrigued by the Finnish side of my heritage. I've never lived the reality there, only snippets of life; holidays, escapes. I see the magic, not the daily drudge.

Duality runs through my veins. On one hand I'm Finnish; minimal, quiet, melancholy, stark, with a touch of dark romance. On the other I'm British; maximal, eccentric, detailed, rich, with a nice cup of tea!

The character of time-worn buildings fills me with awe (living near Cambridge I'm spoilt for choice!)
One especially vivid memory is of my Father taking photographs of windows. At the time I thought it odd, but now I find myself drawn to them too. The idea of windows filtered through into rectangular pattern cutting, mitred corners, and the ability to look through a garment by using cut work applique.

The composition of a photograph is also important to me. From these I explored the idea of repeating lines, transforming them into hand-knit ribbing (via pleating, but apparently pleating has been 'done' a lot by students recently).

I'd love to hear what inspires your work! I hope to share some trend and market research next time...

Wheeeee!

2007-06-28T01:08:00.000+01:00

I got a first!!! I'm utterly gobsmacked!
I'll be celebrating over tea and biscuits tomorrow, and the pub on Friday. :D It's late here and I should be asleep, but I'll leave you with my Dad's video of my catwalk show. Enjoy! (I fancy I'll explain my designs later in the week, once I've returned to this planet.)

Nerves and shopping

2007-06-26T20:38:00.000+01:00

I'm anxiously waiting for my degree results, due tomorrow! I've been so nervous I can hardly think straight.
(I've just completed a part-time fashion studies degree at London College of Fashion.)

So to soothe my nerves I've been shopping!

First I bought two gorgeous moleskine notebooks from fisk and fern
The plan was to give one as a gift and save one for myself, but two friends were in need of gifts so off they went. I'll definitely be buying another just for me.

I've fallen in love with the word 'barnacle'! Doesn't it roll off the tongue beautifully?

I've also been wanting to buy some of Gilfling's work for absolutely ages, her artwork is divine!

This pack of postcards caught my eye; the gorgeous textures and melancholy subject matter are just my cup of tea.

That's definitely taken my mind away from results for a little while, keep your fingers crossed for me please!

Book mooch

2007-06-21T23:17:00.000+01:00

Continuing with the destash of my rather crowded room, I'm giving away a whole bunch of books! Below are 10 random titles from my inventory...

Give away your books at BookMooch.com

Cinderella!

2007-06-20T22:49:00.000+01:00

I stayed up really late last night to finish my UK Etsy challenge piece, so I've been fuzzy all day today! The June theme is fairytales.
In my version of Cinderella: She takes off one damn sexy shoe and uses it to tempt the prince, gesturing a 'come hither' before she disappears into the night.

(I so love these shoes, they're princess pink satin by Giambattista Valli, utterly girly. They bloomin kill my feet though so they're forever destined to be props.)

More UK Etsy fun! We're swapping supplies and I have lots of sage green cotton fabric to give!
It's a medium weight cotton twill with a herringbone weave. I got it as shop soiled seconds from Harvey Nichols (good quality, could do with a wash :D). I have at least a quarter of a roll of this stuff!

It's a sagey, khaki green; if you'd like a sample before swapping let me know! 150 cm wide.
2 points per 100cm x 150cm.
If you're not a UK Etsy peep and would like to buy some, just drop me a line. :)

Covet

2007-06-19T22:52:00.000+01:00

I was really lucky to snag a treasury list on Etsy yesterday, so I filled it with wonderful things which I covet.
Apparently it made the Etsy front page today, while I'd popped out for the afternoon!

I've had an idea for the UK Etsy challenge, the theme is fairytales... so off to take photos now!

UK Etsy secret swap - Gorgeous bag from Memake!

2007-06-18T11:21:00.001+01:00

UK Etsy secret swap - Gorgeous bag from Memake!
Originally uploaded by tiinateaspoon

Thank you to Askey for setting up the secret swap!

I received this absolutely adorable bag from Memake. It's stunning and just my cup of tea, I'm thrilled! She's used the most gorgeous mix of textures, including soft cotton knit, satin ribbon and sumptuous velvet (I keep sticking my hand inside just to feel it :D). To top it all, she made it in my favourite colours, yay!

Thank you ever so much Memake!

I've been blogged!

2007-06-17T13:28:00.001+01:00

The lovely Indie Smash has featured my Passionate tea photograph! Wheee!

They're featuring lots of amazing indie designers, especially from Etsy

Widgetry

2007-06-17T01:59:00.001+01:00

I love little toys, so today I'm testing the Blogger widget for mac.
Maybe being able to type from my dashboard will help me post more often!

*Update* It worked, woohoo!
Google widgets

I'm a featured seller on Etsy!

2007-03-23T11:32:00.000Z

I'm over the moon at being featured! I answered some interview questions, which you can read here if you'd like.

Testing...

2007-03-22T15:51:00.000Z

My first post here! I'm playing with the template... time to see if I've mucked it all up!