rolling

Because her new school is quite a distance from our apartment and not very convenient for the commute to our studio, I spent a ridiculous amount of time this fall mulling over our commuting options and concluded that biking would be our best choice.

Much as Tsia might like to ride in a creative solution like this

or this

we don't exactly have storage space for these clever modes. A similar front-basket Dutch style is manufactured here in the States. We also tried and considered the Burley and Chariot trailers, but they weren't practical for our purposes.

A more typical solution (for our purposes) is a back-of-the-bike carrier like this one:

Unfortunately, Tsia is too big (tall, that is) for these seats, which are intended for smaller children. And I was a little nervous about whether I could control a bike with her on it--she's weighs more than a quarter of my own weight, after all:

Then I read and enjoyed this post about the Dutch and their bikes. I love biking in the Netherlands, but I must admit I never noticed all this about their bikes. I'm especially impressed at all the things they carry (another adult? two kids?) and do (talk on cell phones?) on their bikes. So we agreed that, as long as we're careful, I can handle riding her on a back seat.

A knowledgeable biking parent called these seats to our attention. The seats are appropriate for children aged five to ten. They aren't widely available in the U.S. but proved to be the perfect solution for our needs.

Then came the bike part of the equation. I was dreaming of a bike this this one. But they're a bit pricey. And VERY heavy. Especially for getting over the Williamsburg Bridge every day, which is how we get to Brooklyn every day after dropping S at school. I needed a lighter bike with plenty of gears, since the seat adds quite a bit of weight to the bike and the bridge has a decent incline over which to haul all that weight.

New York has also been working to make the city more bike-friendly, with the addition of special bike lanes and accomodations that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. I think we've still got a long way to go before biking will be as widely accepted and easy to maneuver as it is in the Netherlands, but we're making good progress in the right direction.

I still need to take a photo to show you just what we ended up getting. But our new commute has been working out really well, and we're all enjoying it.

checking in

If you're wondering what's become of me, so am I. I walked into a meeting at S's new school (kindergarten, already) last week and was shocked to hear the Principal mention that it was the sixth week of school. Already? It felt like the third week to me. We're still adjusting to the schedule, our new commute, and a lot of projects and deadlines that keep popping up.

Just to get caught up and back into the swing of things, here's a list of random items:

Visiting: We took our bikes out to Governor's Island on the ferry a week or two ago and had a great time riding around. It's so odd to explore an island full of vacant buildings, so close to the city. Eerily beautiful, especially when it's threatening a storm.





Watching: I've been on a little kick, watching documentary and feature films about fashion designers: Valentino, Coco Before Chanel, and Yves Saint Laurent. Loved The September Issue. Have you seen it? Have I missed any? I'm anxiously awaiting Bill Cunningham New York, too.

Reading: I think I'll move on to something different than fashion once I've finished reading Coco Chanel. But in truth I'm just awaiting the final book in the Lytton family trilogy by Penny Vincenzi to arrive from the library. Good stuff.

Listening: Have you heard the most recent Radiolab yet? And here I thought we were being so environmental, living in New York. Turns out that's only part of the story.

Looking: The Abstract Expressionist New York show at MoMA is well worth a trip if you get a chance. The show draws from the museum's permanent collection, and it's both educational and fascinating.

Ok, back soon. I promise.

(Oh, and we're doing a giveaway at the Oliver + S blog to celebrate the release of our fabrics, fyi...)

inspiration: other designers

I always love to see other people's sources for creative inspiration. It's interesting how each of us finds inspiration from different places and things.


New York magazine asked 100 fashion designers to share their inspiration for their spring 2010 collections. You'll find a huge variety of sources, from abstract concepts and ideas to very concrete objects and things. I love the beetle above, and this little dress detail.



I talked about my inspiration for City Weekend, our first fabric collection, over on the Oliver + S blog today. The fabrics are now shipping and will be available for purchase soon.

click

We dropped off some materials at the studio last weekend, and when we arrived the afternoon light was ideal for a photo shoot. So shoot we did. Just some odds and ends that needed to be photographed, but Tsia watched the process closely as she kept herself busy on the sidelines.

Once we were finished, she asked if she could try taking a few photos, herself. She started with some still lifes, then moved on to some portraits and self-portraits. It was loads of fun to watch, since she knew exactly what she wanted. All these photos are un-cropped. We stayed out of the way for this one:

But the best shots came at the very end, just before we packed up to go home. She wanted to do a series she said would be called "Best Buddies." She set up these three shots and took only one frame of each:

I think they're perfect. They're being printed and sent off to grandparents as we speak.

guess where: #2

I promise I won't make a regular habit of this, but I was so amused that exactly three of you (ok, four now) lovely readers guessed at my previous "guess where" post that I thought we would do another one.

This photo hint will probably help for a few more of you:

P.S. Here is another hint (and an invitation, for those of you nearby who don't need any hints).

P.P.S. That previous photo was taken at my alma mater, Calvin College, outside the art department. Which was my old stomping ground and is, sadly, still located in a windowless basement. I mean, why should light matter when you're making art?

guess where we are?

This will only help about three of you, but here is a photo hint for those in the know:

taste test: ice cream for women

We had a lot of requests for the Ice Cream Dress in adults sizes after we released it last spring. I get it. It's a really cute pattern. And I think it could work in adult sizes, but I'm still on the fence about it.



Maybe I need to shorten it to a blouse length instead of a tunic. Maybe it's just a little too full yet. Maybe it's just a little too smock-y for women--especially women with curves (which I, admittedly, do not have, but I still don't like how it looks on me). I know it might help if I wasn't wearing it with a full skirt in these photos, too. It just doesn't seem like the most flattering cut for most women.

So I think it really does work better for children.

(I enlarged the pattern while we were in Vermont. I didn't enlarge it the way it should be done, or the way I would do it if I were going to professionally develop the pattern for women. I just sort of eyeballed the grading and we made muslins before cutting our real fabric. Again, it's ok. But I'm not sold on the idea. More on Vermont sewing here and here.)

visual taste buds

Most people go to the New Amsterdam Market for great local and artisanal foods: raw cheese, wild mushrooms, designer ice cream, and unbelievable chocolate. I love all those wonderful items, but Todd and I are in agreement that we're not quite on board the food train. We have a CSA membership and we both love good food, but we're not quite down with the obsession.

So when we joined some friends at the market today, I spent more of my time dodging the downpour and watching what people were wearing than trying the foods. It's a bit dark under the FDR where the market it held, but I managed a few candid photos. New Yorkers have such style!

Once everyone had their fill, we dropped in at Pasanella and Son, across the street, to check out the wine selection. Once again, I wasn't looking at or tasting the wine so much as examining the surroundings. One of the owners is a former editor at Martha Stewart, and it shows.

We brought home a few bottles of fantastic wine. I like them not just because they tasted amazing at the shop, but also because the labels on the bottles are really beautiful.

Are you getting a trend here?

sewing kit

This Friday I'm leaving town to guest teach at two consecutive weekend sewing workshops in Vermont with Heather Ross. We had so much fun last year, and this year we've got lots of great plans for the groups who will be joining us.

Since this is the first of several upcoming sewing-related engagements for me, I finally took a little time to put together a proper sewing kit. My tools usually live in an old candy tin at the studio, but it doesn't travel very well. So Tsia and I picked up this cardboard suitcase at Paper Presentation a couple of weeks ago. (If you're looking to purchase one on-line, Paper Source carries a nice selection, too.) I cut a piece of mat board to fit inside the cover, wrapped it with one of the fabrics from City Weekend (shipping in September--soon!) and added some colored elastic to hold little tools inside the cover.

I also made a lining for it so the tools wouldn't bang around inside the case--which is exactly what drives me crazy about the candy tin (besides the fact that the tin doesn't latch shut, so that doesn't really help, either). I cut pieces of wool felt to fit the interior shape, stitched them together with a tiny zigzag stitch, and glued the top edge to the inside of the box.

I've got a few sewing projects of my own to take along, but mostly I'm looking forward to helping other people with their sewing. And it will be nice to just hanging out by the pond or the lake when we're not sewing.

We're going to take some vacation time between the scheduled sewing adventures. Heather's husband, Todd, and Tsia will be driving up to join us for some swimming, resting, and a little camping. Some sketchbooks and a copy of Penny Vincenzi's No Angel are coming along, too. And Tsia can't stop talking about how we're going to visit our friends Ben and Jerry. Should be fun!

Tsia is so excited, she drew this announcement for Todd yesterday. She's sounding out the words to spell them, and we're receiving very thorough packing lists on a regular basis. Amazingly, they're quite legible, too. In case you can't tell, this one says "5 more days until we go to Vermont. Me and you and TC."

This morning she spelled waffle ROFL. That one was a bit more difficult to decipher.

inspiration: Elegance

Of all the books on the shelves at the studio (pattern-making, sewing reference, grading techniques, etc.), this is the book I refer to most frequently. It's surprising, actually, since I don't think it's directly inspired anything I've designed. But I still come back to it regularly and will probably continue to refer to it over time.

The Seeberger brothers were among the world's very first fashion photographers, working from the early 1900's into the 1970's. They primarily photographed wealthy aristocrats at their places of leisure: the racecourse, beaches, and resorts. The photographs in this book were taken between 1909 and 1939, which was a spectacularly elegant era for fashion. Or at least I think so.

The personalities in the photos are almost as interesting as the fashions, and the photographs are exquisite. I finally dragged myself away from staring at the photos the other day and started reading the text, which is equally fascinating. But I love fashion history, so that's probably no great surprise.

Some of these fashions would look just as elegant today, I think.