open studio is tonight

photos by Jennifer Sarkilahti

Our Open Studio Night at the Dobbin Mews is tonight!!  I meant to blog more leading up to it, but I just ran out of time.  I'm really looking forward to this night--it's going to be a lot of fun!  We got to do a wine tasting and pick out some delicious wine from the Dandelion Wine shop on Franklin, and Halcyon Gourmet on Norman will be providing the food.

This is really more of a social event than a shopping event, but we will have a selection of our wares available for purchase.  Unfortunately all my clothing is sold out right now, but I'm really excited to present the very first Wiksten + Odette pieces!  Sarkilahti and I collaborated on some special limited edition necklaces just for the Dobbin Mews open studio night.  The necklaces are sterling silver strung on hand-dyed cotton string, and there are two different colorways and two different shapes to choose from.  Each piece comes with its own hand-dyed pouch.  I'm really happy with how these turned out--they're so delicate and pretty.

In addition, I'll also be selling some of my handknits and taking pre-orders for a new top design (fabric pictured in top photo, beautiful Liberty print cotton + wool).

hope autumn-winter 2010

Hope is a Swedish brand based in Stockholm, and their current collection is one of my very favorites out of everything I've seen this fall.  (How is it that I'm only now getting around to talking about fall clothes?)  These outfits are perfect in every way, and they're exactly how I want to dress this fall.  Simple, quality pieces in slouchy fits and rich colors.  Can we just talk about these colors?  Wow.  The embodiment of autumn.  Great stuff.  Totokaelo has the biggest selection in the U.S. as far as I can tell.

nicolette camille flower studio

Nicolette Owen's flower studio is right across from mine, and every time I stop by I know I'll be inspired by its beauty.  Not only does Nicolette design flower arrangements for weddings and events, but she also teaches the Little Flower School, which was recently featured in the New York Times.  Sometimes I can hear the classes through my window, and the laughter always makes me want to take the class so I can join in the fun.

Nicolette will be participating in our open studio night if you want to come by and check out her space.  She'll be selling floral head pieces (like the ones pictured above on me, Jennifer, and Fay) as well as boutonnieres for the gentlemen. 

you're invited!

I'm happy to announce that my studio will be open to the public for an event two weeks from now!  My workplace is at the Dobbin Mews, a cluster of artists' studios located in Brooklyn (Greenpoint to be exact).  The studios are owned by two fabulously talented artists and all around lovely people, Andras and Robbin.  All of us are coming together to host this night and share our work, and we hope that you can come out and meet us and maybe do a little shopping as well.  We'll provide the food and wine, and all you need to do is bring your wonderful self.  If you have a Facebook page and would like to attend the event, please RSVP here.  There's a website with some info here as well.  I'll be posting more about the event and highlighting the Mews designers and my own new work throughout the next two weeks, so stay tuned.

brooklyn diary

cropped photos from Brooklyn Diary

Brooklyn Diary, the new Lines & Shapes book curated by Lena Corwin, promises to be one of the best yet.  The release date for the book is October 11th, but you can pre-order at a discount here before they sell out.  I've already ordered several copies!  Lena's blog has a sneak peek of what's to come, and the photos are just gorgeous.  This is a project that brings together 10 photographers with 21 artists to document a day in the life of Brooklyn.  Photos of me working in my studio (along with Shannon and Jennifer) will be included in the "studio" section of the book.  I love Brooklyn, and I hope that you buy this book so that you will too!

tiny ring

New beaded stacking ring from Elephantine (worn with this).  It's so delicate and pretty that I just bought another one in silver.

r & r

Thank you millions for all the support and kindness!  I'm so lucky to have had such a wonderful person as Ruth Wiksten in my life for so long, and I'm so glad I got to say goodbye to her before she passed away.  I'm doing pretty well after a week off of work that included a weekend getaway with Joe.

Joe and I haven't gotten to see each other that much lately, and he wasn't able to come back to Kansas with me for the funeral.  We had our first date eight years ago today!  A weekend away in the Catskills gave us a great opportunity to celebrate and to have some quiet time together for once.  Unfortunately I had to miss Fashion's Night Out at the Textile Arts Center, but some time alone with Joe was what I really needed.

This trip made me realize how much I miss being around nature.  We rented a little cottage out in the country, and there were deer everywhere.  What an idyllic setting!  We visited a beautiful pottery shop in a barn with a pond out back and bought handmade pottery and handspun/hand-dyed yarn.  We drank wine, read books, and knitted (me, not Joe) in front of a fire in the fireplace.  Heaven.  Joe accomplished his main objective--to get some sleep (something he never gets).  It was hard to come back to reality, but I feel refreshed and ready.  The only thing I regret is that I forgot my camera and had to use Joe's phone to take pictures!

shoes!

I flew back to Kansas again over the weekend for the funeral (I'll try to blog about that later, but you can read a little bit here), and after I got back I decided to take the whole week off.  One of the things I've been doing with my time off is cleaning out my closet.  Simplifying always helps me to reduce stress and feel better.  I usually do it a couple of times a year and whatever hasn't been worn much gets sold on eBay or donated.  So anyways, I put a bunch of my stuff up on eBay here if you're interested.  It's mainly shoes (really great ones!) but also a couple of things I made for myself but didn't wear much.  I don't really wear my own pieces very often because after all the hard work I'm already sick of them.

cancelled

Wiksten will not be participating in the Fashion's Night Out event at the Textile Arts Center tomorrow night.  It pains me to cancel, but I'm coping with the death of a very close loved one right now by taking a little time off of work.  Wish I could do it, but it's just not the right time.  I will probably still be dropping by the event in any case but just not selling my goods.

save the date

Wiksten.  Mociun.  Odette.  Shabd.  ReMade USA.  Woohoo!

My friends and I will be selling our wares at Brooklyn's very own Textile Arts Center next Friday night.  Ecouterre.com is hosting, and there will be food, free drinks, a tie-dye workshop, a panel discussion on sustainable fashion, a dj, and shopping!  The event begins at 6:00PM with workshops and panel, and shopping hours are from 8:30-11:00PM.  505 Carroll Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215.

This event isn't just about buying things, but it's also about something close to my own heart.  "The theme of the night is slow fashion: fashion that takes a bit longer to design, construct, or find but creates outfits just as stylish and fashionable as high-fashion."  It's about producing and buying responsibly, which is important to me.  Read more here.  It's gonna be great!  Hope to see you there.