jcaroline

More Modern Flora

The totes and cosmetic bags are packed and ready to head to L.A. this weekend.  One of my employees got them done today and it was so nice not to sew for a couple of days!  Clearly, I didn't spend time styling this photo, but you get the idea.  Maribel did a wonderful job and the totes are darling.

Also on its way to L.A. are mounted photos from Wednesday's photo shoot.  I think they are stunning, thanks to Brooke's photographs (and Jessica's fabric)!

Yummy.  And Brooke did a cool collage of the photos as well that she posted on her blog yesterday.

Modern Flora Photo Shoot

So it's feast or famine around here.  I make nothing for days and then I make a gazillion things in three days.  Modern Flora is taking an out-of-town trip to Los Angeles for a textile trade show next week.  The show is for manufacturers, so I wanted to show Modern Flora in some home decor settings.  I did contemplate (for about 2 seconds) sending furniture, but instead decided to pull together an outdoor photo shoot in four days with only three items made out of Modern Flora.  The child's Poang chair, the floor pillows and Leaflet chair were, thankfully, already made.  But I decided to add a slipcovered couch, a covered lampshade, more pillows, a tablecloth and napkins, and a crib set with a quilt.   And they were finished yesterday and shot this morning.
So how does a photo shoot work?  Well, it is one heck of a lot of work and kind of a frenzy.  You want the photographer to get as many shots as possible, so you have to stay out of the way, but you are always dying to smooth out a wrinkle or clip a thread.  And double-stick tape is an absolute must!

This is Brooke Schwab, who photographed the outdoor "rooms".  And how did I find this photographer?  Well, of course, all roads lead back to Jessica at How About Orange, who designed her logo.  What did I do before I knew her?  Floundered, clearly.  Anyway, Brooke does a lot of wedding photography and specializes in really fun settings and shots.  Peruse her blog to see her great photos and read the story behind them.

So, Brooke shot three rooms outdoors and I think they look fantastic.  (Thank you, Brooke, Jessica and me.)

First, the nursery:

No, the stuff in the front was not in the real shot-- stuff just got dropped and set down everywhere.  It would be so easy to just walk away and leave things at the site.

The dining room:

which I was the least excited about in the planning phase because I was afraid it was just too plain, but I love it in the photos. And the bowl of apples was inspired by Jessica's comment that she would love to see the fabric under an apple tree.  Sorry, none in South Texas, but I thought the colors were awesome with the tablecloth.

And the living room:

which makes me think I need to immediately purchase a cottage with white bead board on the walls and fill it with my Modern Flora furniture.  And this project gave me an excuse to do something I've been dying to try:  making awning stripe "fabric" from solids.  Then you can pick whatever color combinations and stripe widths you want.

Now, I can use the next two days to print and mount the photos for the show and make a couple of tote bags and Modern Flora is ready to go.  Show well, my little fabric.

More Fabrics Coming...

If you have been afraid that Modern Flora was the only fabric I would ever sell or talk about again, relax.  Though it is near and dear to my heart, we will continue to carry other designers and we've got some tremendous fabrics coming on the horizon.

That crazy chick, Anna Maria Horner, has her home dec line, Drawing Room coming out in March.  It will be a 54" wide cotton sateen and is coming in two palettes, Eccentric and Nostalgic.  Anna Maria's art is incredible and her color choices in this line are just cool.  I have a feeling if you put these fabrics in your home, it would be like getting a little dose of Anna Maria energy every day.

Another fabric designer you might have heard of, Amy Butler, has her new line Midwest Modern, coming in March or April.  This line is a 45" wide, quilting weight collection and features some traditional Amy Butler florals, but some edgy graphics as well. And in great colorways, as usual.

Anna Griffin is coming out with her line Sierra in the next couple of months.  Her fabric continues to intrigue me.  Though her "signature" look is beautiful, it's a little too traditional and soft for me.  But then she comes up with some really interesting designs like this.  When I saw the samples, the beiges and browns have a real kraft paper look to them, so I'll be interested to see the real fabric.

Rosemarie Lavin has designed a new line for Windham Fabrics, Rhapsody, available mid-March.  I know nothing about the designer, but I was drawn to the fabric because of it's rich colors and graphic twist.  It looks to me like it was inspired by the Pennsylvania Dutch motifs, but I like the modern take she took on it.

Okay, so that is your preview of what is coming up.  In the meantime, I will continue to do some more Modern Flora projects.

Ginger Blossom by Sandi Henderson

When you are done ooohhing and coohhhing about my chair, go over to Sandi's blog Portabellopixie and tell her how much her fabric rocks!  (If you are web surfing at work, you have been warned- her blog plays music.  So turn off your speakers to avoid getting busted.) She teamed up with Michael Miller Fabrics to produce this line and according to her blog, is working on another one as we speak.  She began her career in textiles by designing and sewing children's clothes for her line Portabellopixie.  So she definitely has the apparel sewer in mind when she designs fabric.  She has some great tutorials on her site, including one for shirring children's clothing (think of stretchy smocking).

I met her at Quilt Market last fall and she is as nice and fun as her fabric is darling.  I even got to sit next to her and her husband at the Michael Miller dinner, where as I remember, she was eyeing my steak.  Fortunately, her husband had ordered the same thing so I didn't have to share.  I would have hated to have damaged her talented hands with my fork.

Anyway, the fabrics are here and as a little Valentine's Day/ Ginger Blossom launch gift, use coupon code "GINGER" at checkout and get 15% off Sandi's fabrics through Friday, February 15.

Ready, Set, Go!

Yes, THE FABRIC is available for sale!  Admittedly, it won't be here until Thursday, January 31, but I couldn't wait any longer.  I had 100 yards of each print sent UPS so we would have it sooner and the remainder will be sent by truck, arriving in the next two weeks or so.  Order now and we'll ship it to you at the end of this week.

My posts (and focus) has been a little narrow lately.  But once we get the fabric in and some projects done, I'll broaden my horizons once again.  My mother is here this week and I've already warned her that she will be helping me, or rather, sewing up some projects from the sample yardage I brought home.

Glad you're excited ('cause I am too)!

This is Jessica Jones from How About Orange and me in Southwestern Massachusetts for the printing of THE FABRIC.  We are standing in front of the final strike-off of the soon-to-be-famous Peapod pattern.  And no, we didn't plan to match our sweaters to the fabric.  (It might explain why we were attracted to those colors, yes?)

I asked Jessica to design a fabric collection last summer and she came up with this super cool Modern Flora Collection.  She gave her blog readers a sneak peek in September.  In shades of apple green, lemongrass, deep green and turquoise, she came up with the designs of Sprig, Leaflet, Herb and Peapod.  Three of the fabrics are printed on a 7 oz. canvas 54" wide.  Herb is the scattered leaves design and is printed on a 54" wide fabric known as "Fortuna", which is a mid-weight cotton sheeting.  This fabric is perfect for linings or other applications where you want a softer texture and lighter weight.

How did all this happen?  I've always liked bold, large prints in bright colors and they are not always easy to find or afford.  I found Jessica through her blog (she tells people we met online) and was really attracted to her designs.  So, I had this vision that we should produce a line of fabrics that are hip, modern and bright on a canvas (which is reasonably priced and I personally love the weight and texture).  But I also wanted a lighter weight print in the collection because sometimes you want a purse lining or other home dec item where you don't want the weight and texture.  And I wanted to make sure some solid cottons existed that matched the prints so that you had more design options, which Braemore's Apple Green and Turquoise Carson City match to a T.

So now I'm just staring at the samples I brought back and dreaming of duvet covers, canvas totes, pillows, upholstered chairs, curtains, awnings, crib sets, messsenger bags and shower curtains.  By the way, we'll have the fabrics in about 10 day to 2 weeks.

Ta-DAH!

Michael Miller Organics are here

We just received our shipment of Michael Miller organic fabrics. The line is very nice as it includes a variety of textures and weights to lend itself to a variety of products.  The line includes recycled felt, fleece, terry cloth, sheeting, sherpa knit, gingham check, a natural colored herringbone and a herringbone checked heavy cotton.  Still to come are the gingham check ric rac and bias trim.  It screams to be baby or bath items for its softness.

Organic cotton fabric is fabric that has been grown in fields that have not been treated with pesticides or other chemicals for three years.  The fabrics may be dyed, but most manufacturers are using eco-friendly dyes.  (The Michael Miller fabrics are not dyed with the exception of the gingham check and the herringbone.)   Fabrics are not treated with any of the chemicals typically used on fabrics, such as sizing, soil repellent or flame retardant chemicals.  The USDA certifies producers of organic cotton.

Many makers of baby products have been using organic cotton as it eliminates the skin irritates for sensitive babies and because of the unknown long-term effects of the pesticides that leach from the fabric.  Environmentalists are also promoting the use of organic cottons, as conventional cottons are estimated to use 25 percent of the pesticides used in the world.  Organic cotton has been available since the early 1990's and is predominately produced in the United States and Turkey.  In the U.S., Texas produces the majority of organic cotton, followed by California, New Mexico and Missouri.

If you would like to know more about organic cottons, there are several web resources available.
The Organic Trade Association (www.ota.com ) has a great page on Organic Cotton Facts.  Another site sponsored by a group of organic cotton producers and supporters, www.aboutorganiccotton.com, gives a "slideshow" presentation of the differences between conventional cotton and organic cotton.  The O'Mama Report, sponsored by the Organic Trade Association, offers "Organic Information and Inspiration".

Kokka Fabrics from Japan

Cool fabric alert!  We just received a few pieces of Kokka Fabric from Japan.  Cool prints on cotton and some cotton/linen blends.  The pieces shown here are from the Echino collection by designer Etsuko Furuya.  I can't claim to have discovered her- print and pattern blog did a post on her designs as long ago as July 2006- I just figured out where to get her fabrics.  I love the colors and I love that they are on a linen blend- gives them an interesting hue and texture.  She is a free lance textile designer and the theme of her company Echino is "creating something I love and to be happy."  Thank you to nakamachi  for providing a rough translation of her profile in the comments at the print and pattern site.  (Unfortunately, a lot of the text on Etsuko's site is in Japanese.)  Don't worry- I feel like we'll see more and more of designs, so we'll eventually learn more.

I am also thrilled with the other Kokka fabrics we've gotten- I expect about fifteen more prints in the next several weeks.

   

Laminated Cottons from Michael Miller

I made this bib today from the Laminated Cottons from Michael Miller.   The pattern and instructions are available here.   We had brought in one pattern of the laminated fabric and we couldn't keep it in stock, so we brought in five more patterns last week.  I've been dying to make something out of it-- I can see it being used for  cosmetic bags, diaper bags and changing pads.  Then I saw on Michael Miller's blog this darling raincoat and I am really tempted to attempt a big person version.  How cute would an adult raincoat be in Spa Feeling Groovy or  Black Dandy Damask?  Then again, a little girl's raincoat would be faster and the wearer would be less critical of any sewing shortcomings.

Fabric Everywhere!

I'm overwhelmed!  But I'm excited!  We've gotten in Urban Garden and Chelsea Morning, which I did get on the web last weekend.  But that still leaves the new Alexander Henry and Robert Kaufman!  And I'm so busy thinking about what fabrics I could do what with, when I really should be concentrating on getting them on the web!  No one can buy it if they can't see it!

And yesterday, Mod Girls from Jennifer Paganelli came in. Exciting... overwhelming...

I will warn you, I went a really different direction with Alexander Henry this time.  A few darling children's prints and a few "adult" prints:  construction workers, girls on camouflage, flames, skulls and some other "unique" designs.  A bit of a departure from the colorful florals and graphics we normally get from them.  But I can't help but think you could make some real conversation piece totes from those.

I promise these will ALL be on the web by Sunday.

(Update: A day late, but they are all on the web Monday, 5/21)