shoe gazing

photos by Jennifer Sarkilahti

Even though Jeni just posted this exact same thing, I had to re-blog it because I love her photos.  Plus I don't have any good photographs of my own stuff yet.  That's me on the stool, such a nerd.  We lined up our purchases from the Rachel Comey sample sale and took pictures.  Yes, we spent half our work day, claustrophobic and frenzied, fighting our way through the sale.  Actually, it wasn't too bad.  All the shoppers were pretty polite and friendly.  We were the third and fourth in line, and we really bonded with #1 and 2 I think.  I ran into Stephanie there, and I also got to meet Bridget (so cute and sweet!), one of my blog readers.  All in all, it was a pretty fan-freaking-tastic day.  Stay tuned to see what I bought.

round designs jewelry

Awesome.  Lila Rice's studio is in Greenpoint too, woohoo!  Check it out here. 

The Little Winter site just launched yesterday, and the people of Portland, Oregon are in for a real treat.  Little Winter is a multi-designer sale at the Ace Hotel put together by Abby Powell Thompson of abby try again and Chelsea Fuss of Frolic, and it will be held the first weekend of November.  There will be so many great designers there!  Elly, Anabela, and Alison, to name a few.  I was going to be participating in the sale but had to drop out due to a scheduling conflict.  So bummed!  But I'm still excited to see it unfold from afar.

cookie party!

Kate invited an awesome group of ladies over for a cookie party yesterday, and we decorated cookies for four hours.  Sailboats, unicorns, and cats with bow ties, that's what I'm talking about.  Yummy drinks too.  I didn't know the pitcher of punch didn't have any booze in it, so I only got fake drunk, ha!  Thank goodness because I had three glasses.  Later I found out you were supposed to add gin to it.  And here I thought I'd become a drinking pro.

Cookie parties always make me think of this.

new from alyson fox's a small collection

Fun new necklaces from Alyson.  I have four of her necklaces now, and I wear them A LOT.

domahoka sale

Dang, I would love to buy this Bodkin outfit from the Domahoka sale.  Too bad I'm out of moneys.

evening outside my studio

mociun sale!

photo from StyleCaster "Rainbow Country" editorial

30-70% off Spring 2010 items in the Mociun online store--woohoo!  I only want...everything.  But those leggings sure have my name on them. 

new obsession: olive oil cake

Mmmmmmm, delicious.  I got the recipe from Sunday Suppers, but I added poppy seeds to mine.

what i bought/traded for at lena's summer sale

1. Mociun Vee Tee in coral.  Mine's a size too large, but I still love it, especially the back.

2. Sunshine and Shadow blue silk crop top.

3. Lauren Manoogian cuff.

4. Mociun romper from last year, in the same fabric as my favorite dress.

5.  This Mociun bikini (not pictured).  So flattering!

6. Also not pictured: white linen "vintage" Mociun dress, Mociun notebook, pickled asparagus and cucumbers, and mobile.

7. Aesa studs (not pictured).

tie dye in fall colors

tie dye in summery colors

Here are some pictures of the things I made in Shabd's tie dye class.  My favorite is the linen fabric (top right).  I'm planning on making a shirt out of it.  The light blue splotches of dye are so faint that if you blink you'll almost miss them.  More photos to come...

garlic scape pesto

I signed up for a CSA share for the first time ever this summer, and I'm so excited!  Fresh, local, organic fruits and vegetables every week?  Yes, please.  With my first batch of veggies came garlic scapes, which I'd never had before.  They're long, thin, curly, and beautiful.  The taste is garlicky yet spicy/mustardy at the same time.  Delicious.  At the suggestion of my friend Jenny, I used them to make garlic scape pesto to top homemade gnocchi.  Yum.  I used a variation on Jenny's recipe, which can be found here.  Dr. Joe pointed out that green pasta + green pesto + green plates was a little overkill.  I guess I needed some green in my life!

perfect summer tank class

I'm so excited to be teaching another sewing class soon!  During the month of July I'll be teaching an advanced beginner sewing class at Lena's studio.  I've never taught such a basic class before, so I think this is a good opportunity for sewers out there who aren't very experienced.  We always have fun at these classes, and who doesn't need perfectly fitting tank tops and dresses in their summer wardrobe?  Here's the sign up info.

beautiful things from my new studio mates

Dang, I share a studio space with two incredibly talented girls.  

Jennifer makes so many beautiful rings that it's almost impossible to choose just one.  I'm so lucky that I get to see her new things in person before they've even been released.  I tried on the River ring the other day and snapped a photo.  I didn't want to take it off.

Shannon makes handbags out of recycled leather jackets.  She sells them at Barney's and through her own website.  I already purchased the one pictured above, and I'm in love with it.  The leather is incredibly soft and luxurious.  Sad to say, this is my first real grown up leather bag.  The style is called Balboa, and it's a brand new style so it's not up on the website yet.

On an unrelated note, I hired a summer intern today!  Liz is a fashion design student at Parsons, and she starts work at my studio next week.  I'm still taking resumes for fall internships.  E-mail me at jenny(at)wikstenmade(dot)com.

photos from lena's summer sale

Such an honor to be included in this sale full of talented people!  I'll devote another post just to showing you what I bought/traded.

tie dye!

Tonight I'm taking part two of Shabd's tie dye class, and I've been sorting through images on my computer desk top for inspiration.

A few weeks ago a friend of mine was wearing this beautiful top, and it got me thinking about how much I love the look of one-color scrunch dyeing.  It's subtle and lovely.  My favorite color is blue, so I might try something like this.

Pictured left is a piece from Shabd's A/W 2010 collection, and on the right is a Sophomore tee from Creatures of Comfort.

Accessories in crazy tie-dyed colors are great too, to add a splash of excitement to an outfit of neutrals.

Left: leggings from Shabd, right: a photo of Taylor Tomasi.

Dyeing lines is way too advanced for me, but these are pretty cool.

Left: a blouse from Shabd's A/W 2010 collection, right: dress from Opening Ceremony.

Batik!  Also too complicated for me, but I love these.

Left: agh! don't remember where this is from, right: Permanent Vacation skirt from a few seasons ago.

Bleach dyeing denim seems like something you could do at home on your own, no?

Left: don't remember, right: Megan from Commas and Clauses wearing a Dusen Dusen dress.

wiksten + mociun

Here are the Wiksten + Mociun pieces I made for Lena's sale--simple cut out sleeve tops, tanks tops, and tank dresses.  I am sold out as of now but plan on making a few more.  I have a very limited amount of fabric, so there won't be a waiting list for these.  Once they're gone, they're gone.

I haven't been blogging much because I've had kind of a rough past couple of weeks.  I've just been keeping an impossible schedule and not getting much sleep.  One day I went into work and worked for 36 hours straight!  I beat Dr. Joe, who worked for 29 hours during his own work shift.  Well, the consequences of overworking have taught me a lesson.  I have tendonitis in my right thumb so bad that I'm not allowed to use my hand until it heals, meaning no work for a few days (or weeks, yikes).  So all I can do now is sit around and think about the pain.

I have about 300 photos on my camera from the last couple of weeks to sort through, and I'll be posting some of them this week.  Look for photos of Lena's sale tomorrow.

sale

Come to the sale!  I'll be selling some very special limited edition Wiksten + Mociun pieces.  Caitlin and I decided to do a collaboration--my garment designs made with her textiles.  I'll try to get some pictures up later in the day so you can have a little sneak peek, but you'll have to come to the sale in person to see all of the styles.

partners in crime