Friday, April 24th, 2009
transfer dress, UNIFORM Studio, states of matter COLLECTION
spring 2009
linen w/ rib knit insert
I’ve been going through my experiment pile, forcing myself to act on some of my old ideas that are laying around. One thing I continue to think about and work with is combining knit and woven fabric. This dress has been at the back of my mind for awhile now. Originally I was using the knit fabric as the garment and the woven as the insert. I like this one much better.
When developing a collection I find it crucial to have an overall idea or concept in mind. It helps narrow down the possibilities. I have always believed that in architecture, art and design, the final piece should stand on its own, without explanation or words. But over time I’ve come to see how valuable words are in the development. And reading about ideas behind a work of art make it even more meaningful to me.
I titled my spring collection states of matter, because I had been thinking about things in the natural world, like earth and fog and how they are transitional and have depth. I am always drawn to blurry photographs because of this -you notice the layers and many colors without defined edges. Phenomenal qualites stand out over formal ones.
One difficulty I’ve been having in trying to capture what is appealing to me about blur is keeping profiles simple. There is a compexity to things that are layered and undefined.
The name of this dress, transfer, came from thinking about moving from solid to liquid, or woven to knit in this case. I feel like this starts to embrace both qualities while still maintaining a simplicity that would be easy to wear and could be casual or formal.
Thursday, April 16th, 2009
UNIFORM Studio, mercury drawsting jacket, states of matter COLLECTION II
spring 2009
Spring has been coming in slowly here in Minneapolis, and I have to say I like the slowness. It feels like we are getting a real spring. Often it just goes from being cold to being warm, and we miss the gradual transition.
I just returned from a little spring break trip to Chicago, which was fantastic. I think traveling is one of the most inspiring things for me. Seeing things and places I don’t see on a regular basis, having time to wander and think and take photos all seem to fill my head with all kinds of creative ideas. Our favorite part of the trip was seeing the cloudgate sculpture at Millennium park. It’s so simple and complex at the same time. And the best part was seeing all the people there reacting so positively to it -taking photos and laughing and having a great time. This is public space at it’s best.
Spring for me also means the spring trunk show at Gallery 360 on Thursday, May 7th. This will be my 4th time participating! I will have the 2nd part of my spring collection available, including the jacket you see here. Everything in the gallery will be 20% off through the weekend. I’ll be there on Thusday night, so if you’re in the area please stop by and say hi.
Tomorrow I plan to put some orange and yellow gossamer scarves in the shop, so if you’ve been waiting for those colors, check in tomorrow morning.
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009
UNIFORM Studio, spring gossamer scarf in warm black
I’ve been experimenting with some darker dye colors, which are the most difficult to achieve for me. Blacks are especially hard -you need alot of dye and they always have a stong color undertone, leaning to purple or blue. It’s especially hard to be consistent from batch to batch.
I’ve just listed a few of these experimental colors in the shop -there is a warm black, which is quite dark with a warmish tone (seen above, although posted here it doesn’t look that warm to me), a midnight blue, and a medium greyish blue.
I’m leaving tonight for a little trip -hope you all have a great weekend!
a few scarf links:
The history of the scarf
How to make a loom/How to make a scarf