New Felting!

Felted Neck Warmer--Antoinette Gold and Blue on Etsy

I was pretty productive this weekend with the felting! I made 4 new pieces and added some to another one I had already worked on. The four new pieces are all on the ide of the one above. Of course they never come out exactly the same, which is most of the fun! I had a ball making them, and I love how many ways they can be worn. If you don't know already, I really like to make pieces that are versatile/convertible! I'm thinking I may have to make myself one of these, and I hardly ever keep anything! Check out the other new handmade items just listed at Frost on Etsy!

I can't wait to buy some more felting supplies! They are the most fun to browse through on Etsy, all those gorgeous colors and textures and all the ways to combine them. . . heavenly! I'll probably wait for some more sales before I go drop a big chunk of change on new supplies--I still need to get a new flyer for my spinning wheel because my son broke my current one! :(

And yes, I am totally procrastinating on packing things to move. It really shouldn't take that much, because so much of our stuff is already in boxes, but it's just so not fun! Oh, well--better sooner than later, because my husband has to work this week, and I don't want to be doing it with just Sage! :)

Neglect

Wow, I have been an absentee blogger lately! I have been working on some new fall items though, after reading up on the Pantone picks for fall 2010! It's such an awesome resource for designing; I can't believe I didn't know about it till this spring!

So here's a new item that I really love:


Freeform Crochet Collar by Atelier Frost on Etsy

I did a new turquoise cotton one the other day--just haven't photographed it yet. It's been too sunny for my taste. I also have some lovely new colors in a pretty standard design of mine. I've also got some stuff rolling around my head for some convertible/layering garment pieces. We'll see how that goes.

I'm also collecting things and packing for the move! I am NOT looking forward to that, but luckily most things, besides supplies and clothing, are already in banana boxes for the sake of storage here. I acquired a wonderful vacuum, toaster oven, bed spread, bathroom stuff, and more today, which was great! It's going to be nice to have all that space!

East West Carnival Collection

The New Atelier Frost collection.

Sooooo, I've been putting my energies into this new collection. I know what I said about the dark romance, and all of that, but I think I'll be keeping that on the back burner for fall. Because as soon as I started formulating new designs and digging through materials, the raw silk grabbed me, and I just wanted to make something bright and multi-cultural, like the Himalayas by way of the Great Plains and some retro hippie culture. It's all those sitars, I'm telling you--they infiltrated my mind and totally determined the style of this new collection.

Tassels, shimmer, iridescence, bright shiny baubles--it's all here! And the best thing about it is that it feels like totally me. I don't feel influenced by someone else's accessory designs, or anything like that--I feel totally led by my imagination. And that is a great place to be. I feel like my color choices really make my products hang together too. I've always kind of worried that I like and make too many different styles of things for it to all work together in the shop, but I like to think that my customer is a fashion chameleon, a style shape-shifter, just like me. One day she's rockabilly tough-and-sweet, the next she's an earthy bohemian goddess, then she might be a darkly romantic steampunker, a shoe-gazing rocker in an ironic t-shirt, an ethereal nymph in gauze and flowers. Limitlessness!

So for now it's East West Carnival, Savage Romance is in the works for fall, and who knows what after that? I'm just having too much fun with my head full of ideas and designs!


Summer Reading Recommendation

I just picked up a new book at Target to read on the beach. So many of the books I skimmed the backs of were about murders and detectives, divorcees, knitting circles or sewing circles or whatever--a lot of boring stuff, as far as I'm concerned. And then I saw this book by Alice Hoffman:



I started reading it yesterday and I think I'm probably halfway through--I was naughty and I took it out of my beach bag to read in the house!! I can never seem to keep a beach book for long if I really like it. Anyway, it reads very fast, and the story is full of imagination, love, danger, trouble, modern fairy tale. . . most of the elements that I love! I love books with settings that seem otherworldly and the imagination of the characters is just as meaningful as the "real" world.

I was thinking about that as I watched Big Fish again the other night, actually. If you have not seen this marvelous movie, do not continue reading this paragraph!! I do not want to ruin it for you!! SPOILER ALERT! Will (played by Billy Crudup) feels as though he doesn't know his father Edward (Albert Finney) because he tells so many fantastic tales that couldn't possibly be true. As a journalist, Will is obsessed with what actually happened. But a person's imagination is just as important to the creation of the person they are as the things that "really" happened. A lot of people get so troubled by movies where you can't tell what's "real"--I never worry about that.

But anyway, this is becoming an incredibly long post! I highly recommend The Story Sisters for quick and enjoyable reading; the story isn't always pleasant, but it has grabbed me, and I truly enjoy the writing style--it's rather poetic.

Go ye forth and read and imagine and be a style shape-shifter!

Collection Notes

Something Savage This way Comes
I have had SO MANY things swirling around in my head lately, but they're sort of coalescing into a collection of dark romance and slightly refined savagery. I'm hoping I can do these ideas justice--some attempts turn out to be offensive to the original idea.

Here's one portion of the inspiration. Right around 3:35 it gets really intense for me.


For this new collection, it's not really anything visual that's inspiring me--it's been more music. I've also been listening to "Disturbia" by Rihanna and "She Wolf" by Shakira lately, which intersects with this somehow--still raw, but it's kind of the industrial, insidious side of this imagined girl that this collection is made for--a contrast to her melancholy, wandering, earthy self. . . Needless to say, there will be leather, but there will be gauze; there will be metal, but there will be bone; black, but also brights. . . I'm really excited about this. Even more excited than I was about Haute Electro, maybe because I feel this collection will be saying something more personal.

Speaking of saying something more personal, here's some stuff I jotted around this idea as well. It's interesting to create in more than one medium--if I can't express the idea properly in one, I can try another!


The Hunter

The desert is the fulcrum of despair.
I ride my horse bareback, the wind
braided into my hair. From dark mesas

in the moonlight I see your horns, shadows
of your jaw--my love, my myth. Your mystery
whispers around the rocks, hushes

in a mountain stream. You twist out
of my grasp, wind through feathers. My father
warned me this journey was waste. I packed

my saddle anyway, packed my fur boots,
a wedding headdress. My wedding clothes
I rolled and left under my sister's pillow--

when I find you, you'll take me naked
in the river. I trust this truth. The wind
trails fingers through my hair.


So these are some of my seeds--we'll see what they grow to be.

Long Time No Blog

Wow, I have just gone missing lately, haven't I? Well the other part of my identity is assistant extraordinaire to my mother, who is the adviser to the senior class at our local high school. This week was their graduation and all the events that go along with it, and my time has been totally sucked up by that. But I have returned from the land of the graduates, and I just listed some new things at Frost on Etsy!


Hand Dyed Felted Gauze Scarf--Green Citrus

Cotton Gauze Adventures
I ordered some cotton gauze a week or 2 ago and I spent a lot of time ripping it and dyeing it--once that part of the process was done, I started felting on some of it, adding beading and embroidery. They're really summery, lightweight scarves, which is nice--plus, I just love doing anything with details and embellishments. That's the thing I enjoy the most about making any pieces, whether they be jewelry, scarves, or clothing.

I hope to have some new scarves and jewelry up soon--I've got some colorful ideas blooming in these parts and after I clean up from the whirlwind week, I'll be all over that!

New: Fun Vintage Lucite Necklaces

I have been a HUGE fan of vintage Lucite ever since I discovered it about 5 years ago. It comes in amazing colors, a gorgeous array of surface finishes, and who doesn't love vintage? Anyway, last week I went to my favorite supplier and got some great new beads to add to my collection. Today while Sage napped I finally made some lovely new necklaces! I have plans to go buy more bags of wonderful, colorful beads, but for now, these are ready to be photographed tomorrow and listed with the rest of the Frost! goodies on Etsy!

New Cuffs and Bracelets and Knitting vs. Crochet

I listed some new things in Frost on Etsy yesterday, and I have some more to do today! Lots of fiber jewelry--mostly cuffs and bracelets.

Adventures in Knitting
I'm thinking about breaking out the knitting needles today too--call me crazy. I don't have the best relationship with knitting. I mean, obviously keeping the proper tension isn't a problem, so evenness isn't an issue. But I just hate how slow it goes! And I don't know a lot of stitches, so I don't feel quite as adept. Like I couldn't sit down and make an improvised item like I can with crochet. I know how to increase, decrease, add in a variety of stitches--but with knitting I am a noob. Yep. A knitting noob. So I don't do it much. But I just love how you can get such an airy garment with knitting. With crochet, you can get a pretty lace pattern going, but if you want a light airy fabric with a really nice drape but fairly solid construction, you gotta knit.

And don't all the pretty yarns seem to be marketed to knitters? It's like crochet is the red-headed stepchild of the fiber arts. . . Despite that, I enjoy it a lot--I just want to have more versatility and options in creating my work. I taught myself to knit using the first Stitch n' Bitch book; luckily Debbie Stoller writes some pretty easy-to-understand directions. Some books I just look at them and I feel all tangled up even though I'm not even holding any yarn! So that's my endeavor for today, I guess--working on the knitting.

Sage News
Sage's surgery on his cleft palate is scheduled for tomorrow, but of course he woke up with a little runny nose and I had to call his plastic surgeon and let her know. Hopefully he gets better by the middle of the day, when she calls again. Otherwise, the surgery will be rescheduled. Which sucks! But I'd much rather have the wait for a safe surgery. I loaded him up on orange juice to rock that Vitamin C, and now I need to find out if there are baby vitamins! :) Hopefully everything will proceed as scheduled!

First Sale Ever at Frost!

So Sage is having his third surgery next week, and I decided to offer a Buy One, Get One 50% off Sale from today-April 29th (the day of the surgery). If you happen to mosey on over to Frost on Etsy and find some things you love, once you commit to buy I will send a revised invoice reflecting the discount! Discount taken on item of equal or lesser value. And no matter what you buy, it always ships Priority Mail for $5 in the US!

Scallop Headbands and Bursting with Ideas

I have been positively blooming with ideas lately! Which is nice, considering I was in quite the imagination-rut recently. For someone whose major enjoyment comes from writing poetry and creating things, when there's nothin' goin' on upstairs and that goes on for a while, I become a pretty miserable lady! But I made some headbands at the end of last week that I really like--that's them up above there. And also, a pretty Victorian-esque cuff that's made out of some jersey remnants from Salaam in Montpelier, VT. Plus a few little felted bits, some beads, some embroidery, and a trim remnant.

Yesterday it was all new yellows and greens on Frost, but today it's multi-color and bright (those headbands were new yesterday)! I am a total sucker for color even though I typically wear black and season with colorful accessories. In fact, that should be a post sometime-- "what to wear with your all-black wardrobe!" But it's getting warm up here in the Northeast and I am ready for raspberries and lime greens, aquas and oranges! I expect there will be a whole lot of color going on in the future for Atelier Frost on Etsy.

My ideas involve embroidered collars, patchwork scarves, and maybe even some garments!!! Up to this point I have only ever made clothing for myself, but I've been wanting to do some embellishment and reconstruction (and deconstruction) and even some making-from-scratch! So we'll see what comes of that. I'll be sure to keep you posted! Ideas are a balm for the soul!

Fresh Green Braids

I've been working away at making some new items--lately I'm feeling really inspired by a box of tangled sari silk ribbon I have. The colors are so varied, some with iridescent finishes, plus raw, thready edges. . . There's so much texture! I braided a long (over 10 feet) necklace with shades of green and teal with touches of magenta. I think it came out really beautiful--the colors seem so alive and electric!




Trying out Treasury East

In honor of my color obsession, I also created a treasury on Etsy's new Treasury East, which is in beta testing right now. It's called "Now that's a bright idea!"



I really love everything on that list, but the lime green slippers by natalya1905, the photo (aren't those colors gorgeous?) by bomobob, and that amazing yarn by YOKNITS are my top faves!

You can check out my Fresh Greens Braid Necklace and almost a hundred other unique, eclectically-styled items at Frost on Etsy!

Treasury: Manic Pixie Dream Girls

My most recent treasury was snagged by just happening to log in one minute before the 333rd list expired! It's called "Manic Pixie Dream Girls" in honor of the eccentric gals in a number of indie movies. You can read a rude man's description of them (Wikipedia says that Nathan Rabin claims Katherine Hepburn's character in Bringing Up Baby was one of the first instances of this archetype, so obviously he's a dumbass. Sorry, but Katherine Hepburn is anything but frivolous).

My feeling about these characters, though, is that they are free spirits, wonderfully interesting, and colorful. Like Zooey Deschanel in ANYTHING she's ever been in? Charming! And even if you don't agree, and you think these characters are shallow, too-hip-for-their-own-good, mopey-music-loving creations from the fantasies of geeky screenwriters, you still can't argue that they don't have style! You can visit and comment on the treasury on Etsy. And if you're in a browsing mood, check out one of the 92 items in my shop!

Haute Electro!

So this is the first time I've officially made a "collection" of products for my shop. It's called "Haute Electro" and it's pretty much fiber jewelry and hair accessories at the moment. I don't know what I might expand it to, but I just listed a few pieces, and there will be more coming tomorrow. The inspiration for the Haute Electro collection came from some bamboo fiber dyed in shades of neon with black by my friend Sara from LushMommy. A touch of punk, some retro chic, bright Day-Glo colors, tulle, vintage lucite, and metal touches are the essence of these pieces.

I love a little punk in my wardrobe--in college I was punk all the way, clothes-wise. As has been mentioned in a previous post, I was petrified of doing anything permanent to my hair, so I didn't have any crazy hair colors. But I did wear hot pink fishnets, combat boots, over-the-knee socks, things with studs, and lots of black. But I've never been totally sold by one style, so a lot of the time, the things I design are a mish-mash of influences and styles--I think the pieces for Haute Electro are kind of retro-burlesque-punk, which is always fun.

Transitional Accessories

(Crocus Sky Cowl with hand spun rambouillet--the most velvety, squishy fiber I've ever had the pleasure to spin. Will be listed for sale tomorrow)

I've been making cowls for the last few days. Relatively open stitches, with bands of my hand spun yarn. I like them a lot. But unfortunately, they don't photograph correctly on my torso mannequin--having a neck is a pretty important part of wearing a cowl, and my mannequin has a little stub neck. So I had to model them, although art direction of a photo shoot is a lot easier when you're not IN the photograph. . . I really need to enlist some free or very cheap models sometime here. That'll be my next goal. I did one shop update today, and I'll have another tomorrow.

Ideas for hair accessories have also been swirling through the old noggin lately. . . 'tis the season, I guess. Those will hopefully be coming the end of this week or the beginning of next. Leather butterflies. . . And some neon cuffs with tulle and dupioni and stripes. . . I'm too excited not to get off here and go get working! Check out the new goods, and keep an eye out for more new additions with plenty of new designs!

A Good Day to Dye

Yesterday I was a dyeing fool. The most popular item I think I've ever had is my Revelry Scarf. I started making them a few months shy of a year ago, and I've sold more than ten on Etsy, plus some at my holiday fairs this year. Last week I pulled out a pile of plain white jersey and decided to make some up then dye them.

I wasn't sure about the fiber content of the jersey (I tend to stock-pile fabric and don't always keep good records of these things), so I didn't know how they would come out, but I finally got around to dyeing yesterday. I also did some formerly white jackets that I plan to embroider and embellish, plus some new jersey scarves that are less tailored than the Revelry Scarf. All told, I dyed 18 pieces yesterday! My fingertips and nail beds are a dull burgundy today.

So I'll be updating the shop with these items, a few at a time. I've been tossing around ideas for a new funky textile jewelry line as well, so we'll see how that goes. Nothing else new under the sun!

Another Freeform Cuff

Here's another freeform cuff I just made--I love the colors. I'm really on a purple kick these days. I just applied for a total dream job--more later on how that's gonna go. I'm seriously praying about it. Non-stop--it's like a mantra in my brain.

I also submitted poems to two of my favorite journals this week: Ninth Letter and Hunger Mountain. Ninth Letter is absolutely amazing. The visual art and written works co-mingle on the pages--it's a big format and one that I would LOVE a subscription to sometime when I have some extra dough. Hunger Mountain is VCFA's (where I did my MFA) journal. They were both online subs, so hopefully I'll hear back before too long.

Oh, so many things happening! How exciting!

Freeform Crochet Foray! Hurray!

Oh, I am such a geek with my word selection! Anyway, I have been SUPER inspired lately by some freeform crochet pieces I've happened upon on Flickr and other places, so I decided to try my hand at some myself; let me tell you WHAT FUN!! I love making scarves, but occasionally I get a little toasted after doing V-stitch or grit stitch for a few days, and doing this cuff was seriously like shaking out your foot when it's all pins-and-needles! It was like a big, reaching stretch. Just FUN.

Here's my first piece: Apple Kiss



And here's the back:



I'm already working on another! It's great because going into spring, I don't do a lot of scarves--I do more jewelry and hair items. So I expect to be putting more energy into these are spring approaches.

I've also got to get working on some pin-up style snoods--I just love them, and I haven't found a lot on Etsy in the retro style I like. Taking photos of my own head is kind of tough though, at least getting them to look how I want my photos to look--might have to enlist some gals I know to be models. . .

Lovelorn Scarf and a NEW Blog!

This is my newest scarf and I have to say I love it! I started with the tweed and suede yarn, and it just grew from there. I love the weight of it and how it drapes, the scallop edge--the fringe is so cool too! Okay, I will no more gush over my own item. But I do like it.

In other news, I've started a new blog on poetry, writing, and such. It's called "Out of Slumber and Dreams" because my poems often seem draped with the mist of the freshly awakened. And the unconscious mind is so important in writing poetry and dreaming both.

The Heart of the Hopeless Romantic

I've made a few felted heart brooches this weekend, and I really like how they came out! The above is the Hopeless Romantic's Heart. This is really the first time I've produced items specifically fora a holiday--usually I have all kinds of ideas that never get put into motion, but I wet felted on Thursday and made these, and I've been beading and stitching last night and today. I can't even remember what brought the idea on, but I just started thinking about creating a visual representation of the heart. I also have the Mermaid Heart listed, and in progress are the Punker's Heart and the Fairy's Heart. I've also got some other ideas for love-themed scarves; we'll see how that goes!

In an Etsy Finds Email!! Yahoooo!!!!

So today I opened my Etsy email and lo, and behold--there I was! Well not me, actually--it was my Downtown Tribal Collar/Fiber Necklace!

I think it's the first time I have ever been featured! I was just very excited, so I wanted to share! :)

New item!

I started making these cool wrap cuffs from my stash of leather and jersey remnants (leather's from my grandmother's leather goods designer days, the jersey is from a great boutique in Montpelier that designs and cuts a lot of their own pieces). I love the combination of the toughness of the studs and the drape of the jersey, not to mention I think the matte black studs are deathly cool.

I've listed a purple stitched one, and one with three big silver studs with lime stitching.



Oh, I forgot to add that they're actually convertible into a headband too! :) I love versatility!