Not Really A Seamstress

As most of you know, I've been making my little hats for awhile now.  I get plenty of compliments on them when I'm doing shows and when people see photos of them.

One of the recurring comments that I hear though, "Those are really cute but what would I wear it with?"

I've made costumes for myself to wear for many years.  Gotten lots of compliments on them as well.

 I've even had plenty of people say I should make costumes for others but I've never really felt that my "cobbled together" style would truly be appreciated.

Well, after the continued comments of "what do I wear it with" at the shows and the encouragement of making costumes for others, I've decided that I will make a costume or outfit for each hat so that people can have an idea of what to wear the hat with.  And, being the overachiever that I am, there will most likely be jewellry to compliment the costumes and hats as well.

So, I present to you, my first cobbled together costume ~ The Beekeeper's Wife ~ 

Yes, there's jewellry too ~ 

In case some of you don't understand what I mean when I say I "cobble things together" here's what the components of this costume looked like right from the thrift store before I did anything to them ~ 

So you can see that with just a little ingenuity and creativity I took some clothing cast-offs and transformed them into an interesting Neo-Victorian/Steampunk inspired outfit.


Working on the next costume as we speak!  Photos, of course, to follow.


Hope you enjoyed my little rambling costume story.


Peace, love & light.
 

Barkin' heARTs ROCKED!!!

This was by far the most fun, fabulous, fantastic show I've ever done!!  I had the opportunity to meet some wonderful artists and entertainers and I sincerely hope that our paths will cross again in the future.


I was told that my tent resembled an opium den 

which I found highly complimentary!  

The fashion show, which happened toward the end of the evening, was great.  

Of course most of the models were sporting Calliope McQuinn top hats so that made it even better!


Even the hula hoop dancer had one of my feather fascinators pinned to her hair ~ 

All in all it was a night to remember.  It's just too bad this is the only photo that I have of myself.  

Oh well, it just deepens the curiosity!


For more fun, photographic evidence, pop on over to my Facebook fan page Troll Bridge Studio and have a look at the entire album.


Johnna Guzman,  >Barkin' heARTs totally ROCKED and I can't wait to work with you again!!


Peace, love, light and a little bit of opium!









 

Falling Down The Rabbit Hole

We're in the final countdown to the Barkin' heARTs  "Return To Wonderland" extravaganza being held on Friday April 29 to benefit the Tampa SPCA.

This promises to be a fabulous show at a great venue ~ The Heights Trolley Barn!  And not just because I'm one of the artists, LOL!!

There will be numerous live performances going on throughout the evening as well as a fashion show, a dj, and gorgeous art to look.  There will also be food and drink available.

Creative Loafing came out and did a promotional photo shoot 

so now all of Tampa Bay ought to know about it! 

C'mon out for a fantastic evening of fun, frivolity and fantasy!

In The Midst Of A Dilemma

So I've got this hat that I made ~ 

I made it for a photographer who wanted to do a Baby New Year photo shoot.  The photo shoot never happened and now I'm stuck with this hat.

There's nothing wrong with the hat.  I've put just as much care and attention into it that I do with all my handmade hats.  The only flaw is that I used one of those pre-formed hard felt doll's hats as my base.



This is how it all came about ~ I answered an ad on Craig's List from a photographer looking for interesting jewellry, clothing, accessories, etc. to use in photo shoots.  Well I thought to myself ~ I make interesting jewellry and interesting little hats.  So I emailed the photographer my info.

Needless to say, she loved my stuff and wanted to meet with me to look at everything in person.  We decided to meet in Ybor City 

which is a very unique area near Tampa about an hour away from where I live.

So I load up my car and take the day off from working in my studio and head out to meet this photographer.  

She was late for the meeting (which was a bit of an irritation) and she also brought a friend with her which was odd and unexpected but she explained it away as the friend was going to be designing some of the background work for the photo shoot so she wanted to get a feel for my work as well. 

We had coffee at a sidewalk cafe and chatted about various different things.  After we'd finished our coffees we went over to where my car was parked so I could show them my hats.


This was mid-November when we met.  Whilst looking at my hats, the photographer explained that she had an idea to do a baby new year shoot and thought that a tiny top hat would work out really well as a prop.  My work would be credited in the photos, featured on her blog and she'd be more than happy to give out my business cards as well.  I said sounds great, let me know when you're going to do it and I'll bring the hats over to your studio or location.  Well, she says that she's not sure of the when and where and would just prefer to take the hats, use them and then return them.

 Bells, whistles and flags go off in my head!  After having gotten burned and lost a large chunk of my inventory to a consignment shop I'm very leery of letting my goods out of my sight unless they've been bought and paid for.


Well, not wanting to miss out because she really did seem genuine, I suggest that I could make her a baby version of one of my hats with a new year's theme that would work well with her photo shoot idea.  Even though my hats are small I said that I thought they might seem large placed upon a baby's head and she agreed.

So we part company and I say I'll let her know as soon as the hat's done and she said great, fantastic, can't wait.


I spent the next couple of days shopping for supplies to make this little hat and it's matching hat box.

I email her the photo in mid-December to let her know it's finished and waiting for her.  I again mention I'd be more than happy to bring it to the shoot in person.  She answers, says she loves the hat but is going out of town at the beginning of January and will contact me when she gets back.  Sounds like a major blow off to me so I just chalk it up to lesson learned and forget about it.

At the end of January she writes me and says she's still interested but needs to find a newborn for the shoot.  I tell her to let me know.

Now it's the end of April and I've been looking at this hat sitting here for four months and feeling more than ever that my good nature and willingness to help people out have once again been taken advantage of.


So, tell me, what am I supposed to do with this hat?

It needs a home other than underfoot in my studio.

Lakeland Spring ArtFest

What an awesome show this was!!!  The ladies in charge of it did an excellent job!

There was lots of foot traffic through the site, both looking and buying! 


My stall was gorgeous.  This was opined by a majority of my visitors and not just by me.  Have a look and judge for yourself ~ 

 

The best part of the entire day though, was the acquisition of the fantastic Hats For Sale sign.  Prior to hanging the sign up I just had the usual people standing at a distance and commenting "Oh look at the hats aren't those pretty", "How cute", "How unique", etc, etc.

After the sign was hung ~ 

People were coming in and touching the hats and trying them on and several took photos of themselves wearing them.  Questions were asked, wonderful conversations were had. 

I love this sign!!! 

Time to make more hats!  I've got another show in two weeks and I'm hoping there will be more hat magic!

Peace, love and light!

 

Someone Thinks I'm A Versatile Blogger!

Michelle from GrapeVine Ceramics & Gifts on Etsy

has graciously presented me with the Versatile Blogger Award!  What a fun way to honour some of our favourite bloggers and to get to know a bit about each other.  You can follow her blog here GrapeVine Ceramics and Gifts

Thanks, Michelle!!

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RULES:
1.  Thank the person who awarded you and link back to them in your post.
 
2.  Tell 7 Random facts about yourself.
 
3.  Pass the award on to 15 new found bloggers.
 
4.  Contact each blogger you want to pass the award on to and let them know you've done so, and let the giver of your award know you accept it. 
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7 Random Things About Me ~ 

 1.  I hate peas and Brussels sprouts

2.  One day I hope to live in England

3.  I won the gold medal in my 6th grade spelling bee

4.  I love to wear corsets and long flowing skirts

5.  I have a gorgeous kitten named Jezebel

6.  There's three turkeys living on my back porch

7.  I have 8 screws and a metal plate in my left ankle

That's pretty darn random if I do say so myself!!

The 15 bloggers I choose to award are:

1.   http://glamourpusscouture.blogspot.com/
2.   http://www.tinyhatsweekly.com/
3.   http://nestingpretty.blogspot.com/ 
4.   http://noblestudiosltd.blogspot.com/ 
5.   http://treebink.blogspot.com/ 
6.   http://dobatseatcatsonetsy.blogspot.com/ 
7.   http://witchhollowprimitives.blogspot.com/ 
8.   http://hautecards.blogspot.com/ 
9.   http://queenofslack.blogspot.com/ 
10. http://designingimpressions.blogspot.com/ 
11. http://megscrochetjewels.blogspot.com/ 
12. http://addsomestitches.wordpress.com/ 
13. http://lizbethsgarden.wordpress.com/ 
14. http://www.julieellyndesigns.blogspot.com/ 
15. http://designsbynel.blogspot.com/    


Paying it forward is a good thing!

Peace, love and light

Feathering My Own Nest?

In my opinion, Victorian ladies knew how to dress to impress!

 The layers of skirts, ruffles, bows and lace were gorgeous enough but then add in a superbly embellished hat or hair accessory and your over-the-top outfit was complete.

As most of you know, I already make tiny top hats with a vaguely Victorian spirit.  

To add to the hair accessory line,  I've decided to start making feather fascinators as well.

Because, sometimes a hat (even a tiny one!) is just too much!

And a proper Victorian lady always knew which accessory best suited her outfit.

 Whether picking up a complimentary colour in her dress with a simple bonnet...













                                                                                                          

Or adding a gorgeous feather fascinator to a very lavish ball gown....

Or dressing to the nines for a day out and about....



















I believe Victorian fashion (or our idea of it anyway) is alive and well in the modern era of computer gadgets and instant internet connections and I will continue my quest to make little hats and fascinators to suit everyone's taste.

Peace, Love and Light