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Saturday, April 29, 2006

Bags for sale on ebay












Okay, I have some more bags for sale on ebay. I have sold the 'shell' design bag a few times on ebay. Michelle, a customer of mine requested me to make one of these for her, which I was very happy to do. So when I made hers I decided to make another for ebay since it is becoming popular. If you like the 'shell' bag but missed it on ebay, let me know as I can do special orders with this particular bag since it is made from Japanese fabric, not vintage kimono.

Just click on the photos to be directed to ebay.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Shoes





I like shoes, so I'm always looking at what people are wearing on their feet. Usually the ones I like are so expensive that I can't justify buying them....except for my birthday!

This is why I love Tokyo


Monday, April 24, 2006

Manufacturer's blogs and linking up

There has been a few more thoughts on Kathleens blog about Manufacturer's blogs. Esther actually has 3 blogs, two of which are related to her business. Christina was after a techinical blog for DE's rather than customers and considered starting her own blog . And I agreed with Kathleen about her blog being DE central. However I did suggest a live chat area. I have also contacted Julie of Almost Girl suggesting that Coutorture have a section with links for DE's. However some of the bloggers are already DE's so I don't know how they would go about this. Maybe having the links on the partners page as well as the DE page? Anyway I guess it's up to her, should she deceide to go through with that idea. Meanwhile I am toying with the idea myself. Maybe if DE's created links with each other it would increase traffic to our blogs and perhaps business. So let me know if you are interested and I will link you up.

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Coutorture

This week Coutorture is being launched, and I am very excited about it! Julie of almost girl is one of the creators and has worked extremely hard in bringing the fashion blogging world together. Basically it’s a site offering links to fashion blogs, and brings media together. Also on the site are podcasts and videos so check them out! Even though Coutorture is up and running, it is still evolving. I am looking forward to seeing what it can offer or do for DE’s too.

So what do I blog about?

My entries vary depending on how I'm feeling and what is going on in the fashion blogging realm. But do I have a theme? I would have to say it’s Japanese fashion. I love posting pictures of Japanese people looking stylish. As my Japanese improves I intend to try and chat to them about their clothes and where they bought them. In addition I like writing about fashion magazines and what they cover, as J-zines are the best! I am originally from Melbourne Australia, and I have to say that the magazines there are pretty poor. However there are a few good street mags like fashion journal.

So far I have not divulged much into my bag making. I just post photos, links for purchasing and some brief information about each one. However I am considering peeling back just a few of the layers for people to see. Such as my recent bag dying experience and experimenting with calico bags. As well the design festa is coming up which I will be part of, so I will be writing about that experience too. I am also considering posting a photo of my very small workspace….once I clean it up. It’s a mess at the moment!

Friday, April 21, 2006

How far do DE's blog?

There has been some talk on Kathleen's site about DE blogs and how there are not many of us out there. However, this has since been corrected by Kathleen as DE's have pointed out or 'come out' that we are online.

The comments that I read got me thinking about support and unity and how we have the power to help each other rise in this industry. However with these strenghts may come weaknesses too such as 'knock offs, idea stealing and letting it all hang out, so to speak. In addition there are some nasty people out there leaving awful comments which may impact on patronage.

As
I said on Katheen's site, I don't have these answers. So I am inviting bloggers, DE and our customers to give some thought to this and make some comments on their blogs. If you are interested in participating you can either leave a comment here or leave a link so I can make a summary. Make sure you link or comment by next Friday. I will try and have the results out by the Monday.

Let the DE carnival begin!

Monday, April 17, 2006

OK FRED




I was at Kinokuniya a few weeks back and found this great magazine in the fashion section. From what I can tell, it has a special topic for each publication. This issue was fashion. Previous issues have covered topics such as a guide to rap, Japanese music, and digital heartbreaks.

I found this magazine interesting as it interviewed up and coming designers who talked about their struggles in industry and study ( Oh, I forgot to mention that this magazine, or this issue at least is bilingual).

Hideki Seo spoke about the bullying from teachers and being told 'looking at your face pisses me off, go home'. And Charles Anastase talked about his financial woes and expressing art through his designs.

It was really insightful to find a little more about the sruggles and triumphs in the industry.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

It's that time again


Yup another design for my blog. I can't help but make new ones. I'm also considering using this for my hangtags too.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Smacky Glam?




I've been wanting to take a photo of this shop for ages because I love the name! Smacky Glam! A store that sells young women's clothes at mid ranges prices. If you like short dresses then Smacky is your place!

Organic Dyes?

I am interested in fabric dying and organic dyes. However, so far I have not found much information online. Amazon has a few books on natural dyes but I am reluctant to purchase a reference book unless I have flipped through the pages myself or it's been recommended by a friend or a blogger.
Joyful Honda (yes, you read it correctly), which is a huge hardware/grocery/craft store in Japan, does stock natural dyes and has books about the processes. Unfortunately, the books are printed only in Japanese, and even though I can speak basic Japanese it's not at the level where I can read books of this type. The best I can do is TUNE magazine as there is hardly any writing so I don’t have to spend hours looking up kanji in my dictionary. Maybe I need to study more instead of blogging and making bags for the design festa.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Organic Boom

I want to discuss the evolution that is quietly taking place in the fashion industry. But first, let me commence here. Organic food has been available to the consumer for years now and is taking off due to increasing consumer awareness about pesticides and chemicals in the environment and food, and the potential problems they have environmentally and physically.
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has successfully campaigned to change British children's canteen lunches over to organic food. Furthermore there has been an increase in the purchasing of organic food by consumers. (I am one of those consumers making that change

As a consumer, I am concerned with the amount of pesticides used in food and in clothes. I am afraid that corporations will continue to use these potentially harmful products unless there is a cultural shift from the public. WHICH is slowly happening. Blogs such as fiftyrx3.blogspot.com/ write about their concerns and make readers aware of alternative products on the market.
The fashion student is even in the planning stages of her own organic line. Even nike is launching an organic lines.

My concern is will these organic lines be priced reasonably enough for all consumers, or just the elite? If these clothes are being produced to make a difference for the sake of the earth then they should be priced accordingly so consumers with varying purchasing power can buy them. And what about independent designers? Will they having the purchasing power to buy organic fabric and still survive?

I time will tell if consumers will pick up these organic lines.

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Coutorture

When the internet began, people had no idea about what it would be and what it could do. I can recall somtime in the 90's I think, Lauchlan Murdoch giving a lecture about the net. He spoke about not knowing the power of the internet but wanting to find out. This is how I feel about Coutorture.

There has been a lot of people over at the fashion student giving their two cents about Coutorture - mostly negative I have to say. Which is fine - after all, it is the net, where people's voices and opinions are free, unlike some countires in this world. I feel that Coutorture needs to be given a chance to evolve and to become a community before it is ripped apart and dissected even further by people.

I hope it doesn't become like glam.com. Full of ugly advertising (well too much of it anyway) and mainstream clothes. I envisage Coutorture to become a place where independent designers and bloggers can come together, meet and share knowledge about fashion and design so they can enrich themselves.

Criticism is okay. Constructive criticism is better.

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