in love with...

My new Mociun ring.  I'm wearing it in place of my wedding ring, which is broken right now and expensive to fix.  This ring is lovely and delicate, and I like triangles.  Caitlin makes wedding ring sets too.  She's always wearing this one, and it's gorgeous.

I hope you've all had a relaxing Memorial Day!  I've been working, but I did get to go out for tacos with Jeni, Steve, and Joe.  This is maybe my busiest week of the entire summer.  Tomorrow I move into my new studio space.  Next week Elly will be here, and I'll be doing Lena's sale, as well as a photo shoot for Bust magazine.  Phew.  So much work to get done before then!

bodkin a/w 2010

I'm truly in love with everything from this Bodkin collection.  Wow.  The rich colors, luxe fabrics, and innovative cuts are all stunning.  All of the sudden I want it to be fall so that I can wrap myself up in these pieces, all warm and cozy.  What strikes me is how comfortable and easy everything looks while remaining utterly sophisticated.  And look who the model is.  She's so cute.

obsession: silk shorts in black and blue

Splurge: Creatures of Comfort silk shorts ($215), Rachel Comey silk petal shorts from Far Fetch ($298).

Save: J.Crew drapey supper short ($59.50), Madewell alfresco shorts ($72).

vain and vapid lookbook

photos by Alana Davis

These pieces from the Vain and Vapid summer lookbook are simple and interesting.  I would very much like to have that second dress in my wardrobe.  Details here.

short sleeve chambray

photo by Anna Allen

I love this simple top from Anna Allen.  It looks really well-made.  (I can't buy handmade clothing unless the construction and stitching are impeccable.)  I need another short sleeve chambray top for summer, and I really want it to be this one.  It's so strange that I saw this today because I have some chambray tops in the works for Lena's summer sale.

odette

My soon-to-be studio mate and I went for lunch at Five Leaves on Tuesday, and the weather was hot hot hot.  We sat on the terrace in the shade, but I still needed a refreshing Limonata to cool me down.  

Jennifer was wearing the most beautiful shade of lipstick, Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Red Square.  Truly stunning.  Can't wait to buy my own.  

She wears pieces from her own Odette collection, which are quite striking as well.  I've always thought her work was beautiful just from seeing photos online, but I have to say that in person it's even better.  I don't have much fine jewelry in my collection yet, and I'm itching to buy one of her pieces.  Picking just one thing is pretty tough though.  Her Etsy shop has a few things that aren't on her website, such as the fox claw bracelet that I adore.  

Clothespin is having an online sample sale of Odette jewelry for a very limited time here.  These prices are amazing.  It's so hard to find sales on really nice jewelry.

madewell online

photos from Madewell

The Madewell online shop is finally open!  I always buy my pants and jeans from 

Madewell.   Phew, now I never have to leave the house again.

pendleton pillows

My friend Kara Green (fashion designer, yoga instructor, and soon-to be mom) just opened her own web shop to sell the awesome pillows she makes from dead-stock Pendleton fabric.  Hmmm, how could your couch not look adorable with these on it?

peachy

photos from dores handmade

Beautiful new Dores necklaces by Stephanie Renee.

studio

photos by Jennifer Sarkilahti

I have some really exciting news to share!  Well, I don't know if it's exciting for you, but it's definitely exciting for me.  I'm moving my office out of my apartment into a new studio space!  This is the beginning of a new chapter for Wiksten, and I couldn't be happier.  I can't wait to start going to work every day, away from all the distractions of home (cats, dirty dishes, etc).  I'll miss those cats for sure, but their attempts to foil my work flow will no longer be a threat!  Working in a big space with lots of light will be a dream come true.  I can see myself being much more productive, and now I'll be able to hire an intern. 

The space is just a walk across the park from me, and it's part of an enclave of artists studios that surround a lovely little garden.  I can feel a calming and cheery atmosphere there.  I really lucked into this space, which was last occupied by Dieppa Restrepo, the shoe company that makes beautiful oxfords.  Jennifer Sarkilahti of Odette rented the place, and I found out about it through her blog.  I'm so happy to be studio mates with her and to become part of a fun, inspiring work environment.

There's one space left in our shared studio, and Jennifer and I are looking for a third studio mate.  If you're interested, here's a link to the Craigslist ad.  You can see more photos on Lena's blog here too.

i got my favorite one!

Although this one might be my favorite too.  Sigh.  Maybe next time...

more from the steven alan sample sale

Organic Heddy shirt, worn with Alyson Fox necklace, braided rope bracelet from Elly, Madewell linen pants, and No. 6 clogs.

A dress from last summer's Steven Alan collection (don't know the name of the style), worn with Alyson Fox necklace, rope bracelet, and No. 6 clogs.

Plaid top and cardigan I bought for Joe.  They look adorable on him!

Flyer for the sale.

steven alan sample sale

Went to the sale yesterday at the showroom (still going on through Sunday), and I bought two dresses: the Perry dress (shown on the left) and another one that I'll show you tomorrow.  I'm wearing this one with my Green Olives necklace and Mociun leggings.  With my gift card I bought a pair of white Bass jazz shoes at the Steven Alan store last week, and I spent the rest on the organic Heddy shirt during the online sample sale.  I got the shirt in the mail yesterday, and I adore it.  I don't know what I would do without Steven Alan!  That store supplies so many of my wardrobe needs, and the sales are just fantastic.

mociun blog

photos of ice caves from the Mociun blog

I'm so excited!!!  See?  I'm using exclamation points.  Lots of them.  !!!  Caitlin Mociun has started a new blog, and I already love it.  Here's where she'll be sharing her her inspiration images, thoughts on wearing/producing clothing, recipes, and anything else on her mind.  Her point of view is always so interesting that I know I'll be hooked.

i know what i'm spending my gift card on

Here.

sunken treasure

all photos from Sunken Treasure

Oh my goodness, how fun/colorful/cute are these necklaces from Sunken Treasure?  They're like candy.  I want them all.

waitlist

I've been feeling pretty lucky this week about how supportive my readers and customers have been of my spring collection, so thank you!  I regret that not everyone could get what they wanted.  On Tuesday when my online store sold out of items I started a waitlist for everyone that e-mailed me.  The waitlist is for the ikat top and tribal print dress only.  The other styles will not be restocked.  If you want to be on the waitlist, e-mail me at jenny(at)wikstenmade(dot)com with your name, the style you want, and your size.  I'm waiting on some fabric, and once I get that I'll e-mail the contacts on my waitlist for a chance to pre-order.  Having your name on the waiting list doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able to purchase (I might not be able to get enough fabric), but I'll do my best.

new

::plates::

::haircut::

::brvtvs bracelets from caroline::

wiksten shop info

I had to make some changes to the list of sizes available for the shop update because I've already sold and/or traded some of the things to friends of mine.  You can see an updated list of sizes here.  The new XS-XL size chart can be viewed here.  I won't be making any more of the tie dye dresses or the check cut out dresses after this shop update.  When they're gone, they're gone.  I just couldn't get any more of those fabrics.  (And, dang, how sad!  The tie dyed linen is one of the most beautiful fabrics I've ever seen.  I didn't dye it myself--I bought it already dyed.)  However if the ikat top and the tribal print dress sell out this time around, I will have more available at the beginning of June (in every size).

Edit: Tie dye dresses and tribal print dresses are around 34" long for an XS, 34.5" for a S, and 35" for a M.  They look a lot shorter on the model than they are in reality because the wind kept blowing Glenn's dress higher during the photo shoot.  The check cut out dress is about 33" long for the size M, so that one's a bit shorter.  I like it that way.  I'm 5'7", and it works for me.

where i show you pictures of all the awesome crap i got for my birthday

Yesterday was my birthday, the beginning of the last year of my twenties.  It was a beautiful day, seventy-five and sunny.  I taught a sewing class in the evening and came home to Dr. Joe making me cupcakes!  I'm pretty sure he's never made cupcakes in his entire life, so that was pretty adorable.  Then we went out for tacos and drinks and had an amazing conversation.  Perfect day.

Part of my perfect day was also spent opening a pile of packages that arrived in the mail.  My super sweet mom sent me the Martha Stewart Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts.  Elly got me a whopping gift certificate to Steven Alan!  Best.  Friend.  Ever.  Not only that, but she also sent me a bunch of other goodies, my favorite being a gorgeous necklace that she made by hand.  Photos don't do it justice.  It's impeccable.  I can't believe she sells these for so cheap!  It goes perfectly with my uniform of Mociun tees and husband's cardigans with rolled up sleeves.  (Note to husbands: if you leave your cardigan on the floor, it's fair game for your wife to steal.)  She also gave me yarn and handmade pottery (love handmade pottery!) from Montana.  Her husband Doug sent me a plastic action figure of a crazy cat lady with a bunch of plastic cats.  Doug cracks me up, and he knows I'm cat crazy.  (This is going to be my Halloween costume next year.)  Oh, and Elly also paid some guy in India to call me and sing me a weird birthday song.  Um, hilarious.  And unexpected.

Tonight I'm bringing Joe's cupcakes to my knitting group meeting, and I'm going to force my friends to eat them with me in celebration of my birthday.  Torture, I know.  Maybe I'll bring some bubbly too.  I plan on enjoying the crap out of year 29!

accessories

My accessories research for the photo shoot included inspiration from Hanneli, Maryam Nassir Zadeh, and a Refinery29 feature on Francesca DiMiattio.  I already knew that I wanted to use white oxford flats and high-waisted pleated shorts (which I did end up using for this look), and I thought I might want to use a silk scarf as well to tie the model's hair up with.  I didn't end up using the scarf idea, but the handmade cotton scarves I bought at Catbird have come in handy since.  They make nice spring accessories as well as pretty Mother's Day gifts, tied around a bar of mango butter soap from Saipua.

I also ended up getting some peep toe clog heels from the No. 6 Store that I love (used in this look for the shoot).  I found cropped linen/cotton pants (so comfortable) at Madewell and silk shorts at Topshop.  The white oxfords are Steven, and I ordered them online.  I got them in my regular size, but they run small so they are too tight on me.  Darn, I really like them.  I can't send them back since the bottoms got a little scratched at the shoot (I know, I should have taped them), but otherwise they look brand new.  They fit Glenn, who is a size 8 1/2, perfectly.  I think they would fit size 8 too.  I'm selling them here if anyone's interested.  I had such a hard time tracking these down in the first place, and now they're sold out everywhere in that size. SOLD!

Oh!  And all the jewelry I used for the shoot was from Kate Miss of For Me, For You.

mailing list

If you want to sign up for the Wiksten shop mailing list, you can now do that automatically instead of e-mailing me.  Just enter your e-mail in the blank field in the blog side bar and click submit.  You can unsubscribe at any time, as there will be an option you can click within the body of each e-mail.

hair and makeup

Since I'm completely obsessive and like to do a lot of research, I compiled these images before my photo shoot and made collages of them.  I was planning on sharing my inspiration with a hairstylist/makeup artist, but in the end I couldn't find one that would work for cheap and/or free on a weekday.  We ended up kind of winging it on the hair and makeup front, which wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't been so darn windy the day of the shoot.  Lucky for me, last night I met a freelance hair and makeup person at Joe's birthday get-together who I plan on using for my next shoot.

For makeup, Glenn and I put our heads together and ended up using Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer under Glenn's own foundation (trying for a matte look), Stila Convertible Color in Gerbera for cheeks (such a pretty peachy blush), and (saving the best for last) Nars lipstick in Heatwave.  Heatwave is a semi-matte orange red, and it is bright bright bright.  I love it.

I'm having trouble remembering where I sourced all of these images, but I do know that I got some of them from Lieke Roomijs' photostream, some of them from Refinery29, some from past Toast catalogs, and some from the look books of Keller and Alyson Fox's A Small Collection.