Katharina Ludwig contemporary jewellery

Katharina Ludvig is a jewellery artist that I found recently through Bientot Demain blog. Many of her works are about the study of the jewellrys relationship with the body and how the pieces change when introduced to the elements.

The Organ Bottles
"The human body consists to over 70% out of water. The value of water lies in its necessity for the body and all its functions. The body is our most precious tool and we deal and work with it every day. The water bottles in the shape of inner organs, worn as accessory on the body, let you experience the weight and volume of water and remind you of the importance water has for your body." Organ bottles are made of: wool, aluminium dringking cap and silicon drinking pouch. I´d love this project even better if the wool would be organic (or recycled sweaters). But the design is stunning. To me these pieces are a constant reminder on how we should preserve water since our bodies cannot survive with out it. It also proves an another point in crafting, that if you need to make something look comfortable, just cover the whole thing with knit.





Ice jewellery
As a Finn I love ice. It has an organic texture that reclects light beautifully. These pieces made from metal (gold) jewellery chain/ring/earring base and ice. The metal base or chain is submerged in an ice-cude container and frozen. When the piece is worn it melts and therefore changes its shape until it is complitely gone. I concider this as the eco-lovers bling! These pieces are a perfect statement on global warming. The design is genious and simple DIY-project for home crafters (at least the necklace). And the best part is that it can be remade again and again. Always in a different and unique form.





Pigment shirts
Katharina has designed also tees that have small crums of pigment color added to them. Invisible to the eye until you pour water on the garment. A changing fashion art piece that would go perfectly with the ice jewellery!

Manon Gignoux´s love for wear and tear

Manon Gignoux makes clothes, accessories, jewellry and home decor from pieces of fabric. I think she has a wonderful way to combine (muted) colors and to transform an worn down fabric into something comfortable, soft and inviting.

"The origins of my work can be traced back to my last year of study at France’s Duperré School of Applied Arts when I carried out a photographic study of the clothes worn by workers in the early 20th century and explored the "traces of wear and tear" on clothes. Starting with details of a hundred or so photographs taken from books, I filled research notebooks and ended up with four themes: the "carpenter" or the traces of alteration, the "washerwoman" or the imprint of repeated movements, the "inside-out suit" or the dynamics of (de)construction, and the "woman shopkeeper" or the encounter between work clothes and everyday life and the way an object that is worn fits the body." (paragraph from Manon Gignoux website)




"I play on the relationship between clothes and object, I dress objects in order to protect them and to tell their story… damaged coverings, darned, made from accumulation and colours faded by time."

Not so BoringSidney

Meet Belle, the fab milliner from Etsy known as BoringSidney. She makes hats with that have that special wow-effect. With a BA in Apparel Design and a Minor in Costume Design, Belle has had the opportunity to design costumes for some 25 plays or musicals over the last 18 years, several ballets, independent film, and a magic show. It was in the theatre that she learned the art of millinery. With a love for the bizarre and quirky, a solid sense of humor, and a driving need to create, that she started Boring Sidney/Belle Millinery label 9 years ago.

Hats millinery; hand blocking, creating hat blocks, steaming and building buckram frames is almost a lost art, having apprenticed under a master milliner in the theatre she learned old world millinery techniques and acquire vintage hat blocks, trims, and fabrics. Her shop carries 20´s art deco, 40´s pin-up styled hats, headwraps and feather decorated pieces with haircomb fastenings that will transform any dress to movie star status.



I´m so happy Etsy finally featured her on their Featured Seller column since she is one of my favorite Etsy-crafters. Read the full interview HERE. You can find Belle´s shop from BoringSidney.etsy.com. Her designs were featured also in the Spring 2008 issue of Elle Accessories Magazine. Congrats girl!


I love the shape of this pink hat so much that I´m going to tr to do this from neckties.

Re-inventing your craft

Craft artists love their creations but sometimes I think they lose the ability to view their designs and technique objectively and that often results to lack of renovation in their designs or product range. They just keep doing the same stuff year after year... Let me give you an example. I went to a recycle-craft fair today in Helsinki. I saw too many totebags and brooches but not a single laptop case or iPod case!

Laptop carriercase by Janine King Designs at Etsy. Simple but very functional design.


Re-invent your color pallette.

Color is a very important part in design and the overall presentation of the product. We all have our favorite colors and color pallettes. I spoke to one crafter today at the fair about colors and she said the best sellers for her have always been black, white, brown and red (mostly burgundy and blood red). She had some green and orange in her collection but confessed that she keeps them in the collection just because they are her favorite colors even they do not sell that well. She has made a smart move on following up on what sells and developing her collections to match that even though they might not be her favorites.



Neon colors for example are a big trend at the moment but I have seen only a few crafters using them. If you´re lacking ideas on new color combinations, color design books can be found from bookstores or you can use color palette generator sites. They are an exellent tool to finding new color combinations.



Re-invent you technique.

Finland has many artists/designers that use felt as their main material. They know their technique, but the design is often overlooked. If you want to see what I mean just google the words "huovutus kuvat". And then go to the firsts links and click on to "Kuvagalleria". The productpictures are good but unfortunately I cannot imagine anyone from my friends or family ever wearing these sort of items. Wool is a wonderful, classic and very practical material and that´s why I feel so sad for the lack of design potential in this craft-gendre.

If you do make stuff just for yourself and happen to do this kind of felt work, note that I´m not talking about you. I believe you should always be true to your personal style when doing home-crafts for yourself. I´m taking about the professional craft designers that have a brand and sell their craft goods for a living. Be aware that most consumers do not share your exact taste in style.

A good collection and product can be used by different aged and styled people. Even different genders if the design is really thought through. Always have unisex items in your collection so your customers can buy them not only for themselves but also for their friends, children and spouses.

Elegant felted plate-tablets by I Do Studios at Etsy.


Re-invent your best-seller.

When selling items a brand needs to follow fashion- and interior (micro)trends and modify the prodect range and colors accordingly to meet your customers needs. How else will craft business grow and reach new consumers! I recommend reading craft and design blogs and valued magazine publications. Don´t just make basic totebags when you can imitate this seasons designer it-bag and make it from your material of choise with your signature working techniques (leather, wood, knit, reconstructed clothing). I´d love to see someone do a Burberry Prorsum The Mason Warrior bag or Michael Kors Ranger patent bag from army surplus or secondhand leather jackets, buttons and belts.



And don´t just focus on bags. There´s hats, gloves, belts, masks, jewellry, underwear, legwarmers, skirts, tees, capes and all other fashion product categories (not to mention all interior design product categories) to keep your collection versatile! Sites like Trendstop.com or Style.com show inspirational raports on the latest fads like this about Heroes. I´m sure designer inspired pieces pay better anyway especially if they are made as numbered limited edition products or one season collections. Or even more exclusive.. "made by order".

Forget modesty and aim high. If you can´t imagine your product in a Vogue/ID styled fashion editorial or a respected interior publication, maybe the design still needs some work. Be a renessance crafter.

Design Sponge Interior blog

Wow... just...wow. I have found THE diy+design+thrift interior blog. Ladies and gentlemen, let me present Design Sponge. It´s all here. Thrift store finds and small label design pieces spiced with stylish interior DIY projects all wrapped up in impeccable taste of color and form. I ended up browsing through all April entries and it took me three hours. There´s just that many posts so reserve time and a cup of hot tee. I´m particulary fond of their inspiring Before and After posts and DIY projects. This is what I want my home to look like...

Sew, Mama, Sew - Sewing tutorial competition

Sew, Mama, Sew hosted a tutorial competition in April. The winners have now been announced and all the entries can be viewed from the sew,mama,sew blog. Here are my favorite DIY tutorials.



The gathering apron tutorial by Sarah.


DIY Fabric toe separators tutorial by Marmalade Kiss.


Jeans bum crack ending tutorial by Whosies.


Eylet Brooch tutorial by Thefray.


Clothespin bag tutorial by Christy´s Creations


Hobo-lunchbag tutorial by Sewing Notions.


Hand-dyed Fabric Trims tutorial by LittleBlackKitty.

The art of shortening jeans - Darts

How many times have you left a great looking, worn down pair of denim in to the shop because the legs are too long? I love denim and it kills me every time I see (an expensive) worn pair of denim shortened just by CUTTING them. I´ve been working with denim for years and shortened more jeans for my friends that I can remember. So far I have come up with about six dfferent ways to shorten them (depending on the fit, wash and style).



Darts are the perfect solution when you need to lose a lot or just a little length from the back leg of your jeans, but none from the front. The leg will curve to the back but it will look surprisingly straight when the jeans are worn. Fast, simple and hardly visible!

This is the second denim shortening tutorial - DARTS at Cut Out and Keep craft community. The photos and instructions can also be found from my Flickr Trashion Tutorial Set. The first tutorial was about shortening bootcut jeans.

Isn´t it amazing where 1 1/2 inches (8cm) on extra-length just disappheared! And no cutting needed. So... If I ever wanted to open the darts up again to add length, it is possible! I use only one dart (sewn to hem) if I need to shorten the denim 1/2 inches (3cm) from the back, but leave the front un-touched.

Worn trash or fashion made from recycled materials?

I often search the web for new talent that transforms recycled materials into fab fashions. Again I found mostly only pictures from "trashion fashion shows" presenting dresses and other garments made from ... just trash. Literately. How on earth is the wider audience ever going to change their views on recycled fashions if we keep displaying garments made from plastic bags/magazines that might look inventive for a second on the runway but that no one in their right mind would ever wear in public...? You tell me. I´m sure all those plasticbag-dresses would look great on a Vogue/Elle editorial but WOULD SOMEONE BUY OR WEAR THEM?

We live in a world of sales and marketing. I believe the cause of sustainable fashion and using recycled materials is a very important issue, but in order to get other people and especially those fashion-people see what you see it has to be presented the right way. It must sell. We have to show the fashion consumer that making fashion ourselves can result to something more unique and beautiful than they could ever find in a regular shop.

Concentrate on the design rather than creating just gallery-pieces or preaching about the ethnical side. The thing most recycle-designers need to concider is that "can this garment/item be sold?", "will someone pay to wear this?" or "what would my not-recycle-oriented fashion-loving friend think about this?". Unless you´re Mr. Martin Margiela, the king of trashion, I suggest you think about this. Get that WOW-effect in to your designs.

I have a mission to prove that recycled fashion does not mean "wearing your garbage", but that you are able to create amazing, design-like (and wearable) fashions by using discarded materials. You know that you´re on the right track when you have this convesation with someone seeing you designs for the first time:
- "That dress is amazing".
- "Thank you. It´s made from 60 ties..."
- "..What? I did not notice any ties!"
- "Look closer."

Discarded To Devine Fashion Show 2008

The Discarded To Devine 2008 fashion show and auction was held in San Francisco last Sathurday, April 26nd. Show designs can be viewed at Discarded To Devine Flickr photostream. Here are my favorites.

Reconstructed knitwear:


Dress from recycled nylon stockings: (Photo by Calmenda)

More pictures: AHEIDEN PHOTOS and CONCHANG PHOTOS

I think this dress is just genious and bautiful. I had to look at the large image up-close until I figured out what this was made from. Maybe add a few sparkling crystals/silver sequins and this would kill on the prom dance floor.

The art of shortening jeans - Bootcut

Picture: www.diesel.com, Doozy 71J

How many times have you left a great looking, worn down pair of denim in to the shop because the legs are too long? I love denim and it kills me every time I see (an expensive) worn pair of denim shortened just by CUTTING them. I´ve been working with denim for years and shortened more jeans for my friends that I can remember. So far I have come up with about six dfferent ways to shorten them (depending on the fit, wash and style). Here´s the first tutorial for shortening abraded/washed bootcut jeans on Cut Out and Keep craft community. The basic idea is to be shortened with an "invisible seam".



Bootcut jeans cannot be shortened with a straight seam because the sewing lines are not the same length. In this tutorial you´ll see how to shorten jeans with a curved seam - no matter how flare legged your bootcut jeas are!

When you are done the jeans are about 3 cm (1/2 inches) shorter from the heel than in front, but they seem to be the same lentgh when you have the denims on. Except that the heel won´t slip under your foot all the time. :) Finally you have bootcut jeans that can be worn with flats and high heels. And nobody notices the extra seam in the bottom...

New tutorial on Cut Out and Keep community - Pressing neckties

Many have asked me how I did my tie-dress. Here is a tutorial on what happened to the secondhand neckties before I pinned into shape on the dummy and formed my dress top. It does not matter if the ties are of different widths or they are slightly dirty. You will not notice this after they have been scrunched and pressed.



Check out all my trashion tutorials on Cut Out and Keep crafts community. More pictures can be found from my Flickr "Tie feathers"-set.

Fida avaa oman Outlet-myymälän Roihupeltoon

Fida lähetystorien uusi Outlet-myymälä avautuu Helsingissä 29.4.!

Outlet-myymälässä kaikki vaatteet maksavat vain euron. Uusi Fida outlet-myymälä Itä-Helsingin Roihupellossa juhlii avajaisia vapputunnelmissa tiistaina 29.4. Myymälässä myydään Fida lähetystoreilta poistettuja hyväkuntoisia käytettyjä vaatteita. Fida lähetystorien lajittelukeskuksessa outlet-myymälän yhteydessä toimii myös tukkumyynti. Tukkumyynti palvelee ammattilaisostajia asiantuntevasti.
"Tukkumyynti eroaa outlet-myynnistä siten, että tukkupuolella myydään vaatteita kilohintaan ja suurissa erissä, kuvailee tukkumyynnistä vastaava Satu Koivisto. "Tukkumyynnistä voi löytää myymälätasoisia tekstiilejä ja kenkiä, erittäin edullista kakkoslaatua tai vaikkapa puoli-ilmaista materiaalia tuunaukseen energiajakeesta. Tukkumyyntiin Roihupeltoon ovat tervetulleita sekä yritykset että yhteisöt, kuten teatterit ja käsityöyrittäjät.(Teksti Fidan kotisivuilta.)

Fida outlet-myymälä
Tulppatie 14, Helsinki
Myymälä avoinna: ma-pe klo 10-14.00
Fida tukkumyynti, Tulppatie 14, Helsinki

Beyond Retro opening a store in Helsinki??

This is the best news gossip I´ve heard in a looong time! My favorite secondhand departmentstore chain Beyond Retro might be opening a store in Helsinki!! How cool would that be.

Beyond Retro has it all: tens of metres of stylish secondhand clothes accessories (all perfectly organized by style and color!), happy staff, groovy music playing and that lovely vintage smell when you step into the shop. Usually when I go thrift shopping I can just be happy if I find something similar to that I´m looking for (and that one is usually too small to fit me). But from Beyond Retro I have always found at least ten different choises. Plus a mathing leather bag and killer heels. All resonable priced.

I swear will give up normal clothing shops 100% if this store comes into town. It´s just that good.



And if you Beyond Retro happen to read this post: Add more shop-pics to your site so new customers can see how great your stores are!

Make Art not Trash (trashion links)

Art for housewifes has collected a huuuge list of artists that use trash and recycled materials for their works. The site itself is a bit confusing, but the links are great. This should keep you busy surfing the interweb for a few afternoons.

Shoe chair by Willie Cole "Made In The Philippines"

Martin Margiela Artisanal SS08 collection

Maison Martin Margiela has released their new SS08 Artisanal colection on their website. Once again I find myself gasping. And belive it or not, I have been playing with the idea of creating "pixelated" prints/images to clothing and home decor by combining different colored buttons for the past two years... I should have done it then. I´m just happy to see Margiela´s studio and I seem to share thoughts. As always I love that they tell how the garment has been made + the work hours put into it.

Scream-button-dress: Vintage buttons are embroidered on a silk chiffon to create a bit-mapped effect motif. Two rectangular pieces of silk muslin are assembled to form a dress. The front is embroidered with various buttons of mother-of-pearl, metal, plastic to draw a mouth. Dress : 25 hours

Pixelated prints from buttons:

The plastron of a vintage shirt is embroidered with various buttons in mother-of-pearl, metal and plastic, composing the drawing of an eye. T-shirt : 20 hours

Mirrorpiece jacket:

Small mirror squares are assembled as a top. These small tiles like those found on a facetted disco ball are glued on an open-back top lined in black leather. Top : 45 hours

Pleated top:

An extra large T-shirt is partially slashed in bands to create a circular motif. The new armhole is made with a series of hand-made knots. T-shirt : 19 hours

Elastic Band Jacket:

A plaiting of elastic bands creates a jacket. Various widths and qualities of elastics are plaited directly on the dummy to make a jacket. The different types of elastics brings a particular colour to each garment. T-shirt : 29 hours

Natalie "Alabama" Chanin interiors

Alabama Chanin is a sustainable label by designer Natalie Chanin. I adore her style in interior design and creating unique decor pieces. Her home textiles have some beautifull embroidery and the lamps are just pure trashion. She also has a sustainable eco-label that produces clothes and jewellry. Her "necktie-chair" is of course my favorite!



Now where could I find those gorgeous cow jaw-bones to make my own bonelamp....

Sohung Designs by Shohung Tong

Chinese Shohung Tong is a NY based designer makes reconstructed dresses from neckties and mens shirts. Love his work. Found him through Sewing with neckties. Thanks Barb!

Necktie dress by Post Decadent Trashionista

Post Decadent Trashionista made a beautifull dress and stole by using my tie-feather tutorial. Well done girl! I´d definately wear this to a party :)

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac

French fashion designer veteran Jean Charles De Castelbajac ("JC/DC" to friends) is known for his childlike basic-colored creations inspired by sports, pop-art, logos and animation caracters and other cultural icons. He loves wool, felt and sequins and a teddybear apphears in every collection - it´s his trademark. Castelbajac has a way to present humoristic details in his creations. One of his most known pieces is the teddybear-jacket and pants that Red Hot Chilli Peppers member Flea worn on one of their music videos in the mid 90´s.



For a few years he did not show any collections, but I´m happy to see he´s back! His olympic games inspired SS2008 collection had some amazing jewellry made from legos (check also collection details).





His collection images can be found from Elle.com Runway shows (search Castelbajac) and Firstview.com. Perfect inspiration if you´re into fabric printing, appliques, hats or making jewellry from toys. So get your legos and stuffed animals and go create some rad fashion pieces with smilies!!

The bunny ear hoodie by Meredith S.

Meredith S. has made a tutorial on how to pimp your hoodie with some bunny ears. Tutorial at Cut Out and Keep community, BUNNY EAR HOODIE.