Being willing to adapt...

One can have expectations for life, plans and projects, but sometimes things change, times pass and you have to adapt, do things in another way. Sometimes it´s hard, frustrating and disillusioning, but it can also be a pleasant surprise that makes you look at the world in another way and make you grow as a person...

This is all pocket philosophy. In my life it has a lot to do with having tons of ideas but too little time. Having a little kid has a tendency to break up the time you have for different project into fragments, ten minutes here and there and maybe two hours on a good day.




So here is the story: I started making this jacket to be in the spring. I constructed the pattern too big for him so he could use it in the fall with a sweater under. Things went well, I dyed the fabric, cut it and then I got busy. Time flew as it does in summer. The sun was shining and we were having fun playing with water on the lawn behind the studio. Then fall came and still no jacket. It got cold so we bought a jacket for the little fellow. Mom really wanted to knit a scarf but ended up with letting him wear one of her own.




But what about the sewing project THE JACKET... ??? I had to adapt, you see and so did the jacket. Seth had gotten a lot bigger during the summer and no way would it fit him over a sweater so I forgot all about the sleeves and made a vest... So if there is anyone out there with long lasting projects like mine and needs a pair of sleeves for something, you know who to call...




Teddy bear: Dress style info : Crocheted pants from a kids vintage store worn with a high waist....hip !

DESK

The desk area in the shop is finally finished. The desk itself is a gift from a friend. It was in a real bad shape with lots of stuff to be fixed and painted and I made extra shelves to fit the needs. This area is all very white but hopefully soon the wall behind it will be filled with lots of things to sell.

Because of the big doors this place can have a rather strong draft... I would actually call it windy... So I have rocks to keep the paper in its place and all little things are in the metal box .

The desk had some very malfunctioning drawers, so they were removed and I went to the baker and got some of those confectioners boxes. They are of great size, and real easy to move around. They contain whatever I need, like extra tape, prize tags and so on. I placed a curtain there to hide bigger things like extra packaging material.




Above the desk is a dispenser for gift paper. This one is a gift from my dad he gave to me when I opened my first studio and shop some 10 years ago. He made it of an old chair and table. I have used the same type of gift wrap for nearly 10 years. What can I say else than I really like it... The curly ribbon is white and has a satin surface. I used to wrap my pots in newspaper and cover it with the gift wrap, but now I use white silk paper. The scissor is old and fits well to my hand. It is on a leash because somehow it always seems to disappear for me.




I am satisfied now and I like standing behind that desk talking to customers.

Oh... the picture below, dinner: You guessed right, it is beetroot. I got to tell you, this is not the only picture I have after eating beetroot. I just think it looks great. It dries up in beautiful spots. I sometimes get a new view looking at my plates in use... This could be just another bad excuse for not doing the dishes but really it isn't.

Small business marketing...

Having a small business run just by one person leaves you with two choices when it comes to marketing. You either have a lot of money to buy different services or you make all the things possible yourself. I belong to the latter category and lucky me I find it interesting to have my hands on all parts of the process.

I have found this place that makes printed papers in small numbers and at a reasonable price. I customized the posters with a fringe of little business cards to bring home. Of course I had to use the sewing machine for this. It is fast and involves no sticky glue. I like the look of the bright yellow thread that separates the professional poster and the homemade looking business cards( that was my intention... if anyone should wonder ). It also adds a little texture and feeling of maybe a dress, a shirt who knows...





I have put different materials in a basket in my car so it will be easy for me on my way around to put up a poster where ever it could be a good idea...





Oh I have to tell: I MADE A TABLE...( or at least the tabletop) I found the two Ikea adjustable table legs at my parents attic. Yeps I made the technical drawings... calculated the materials and actually built it. For a long time I have wanted a sturdy table in the studio. I wanted it to be adjustable in height, have a white plain surface that would leave no marks on whatever I am working with... It is finished and I am pleased with it. I will probably never see it this empty againg...

My way of working...

Once in a while I meet people having opinion that creative people are unorganized. In a way I think they are right. To create it is necessary to be a little destructive, break up things and make a mess, but then you have to organise things in a new way, keep your head cool and follow the idea to the very end where it is actually finished and materialized in something real. It is very easy to ramble down the river of flowing ideas, but the hard part ( or at least for me it is... ) is to get disciplined and finish the project or to develop the idea on sketches and small test and eventually maybe just throw the hole thing in the bin.




Here is the way I do it: I Have a little A6 size piece of yellow plastic board that provides a very sturdy surface for writing or drawing in places where there is no table near. I use index card or just plain little A6 note papers for sketches or whatever I need to write down. All kind of design ideas, sewing techniques, wish lists, different to do lists ( way too many... ) , cooking recipes, books i would like to read and so on. I carry the little board with me all times. I organize it this way: first the plastic board, then finished notes and sketches, then one piece of black cardboard to divide, in the front is the plain paper all ready. Whenever I make a note I slit it behind the black cardboard to wait until the moment when I just have too many notes. That's when I sit down and file it in the box in the proper place. It is simple and doesn't take to much space





I really like these black boxes. They are very sturdy and has that feeling of an old library. One day I would like to have a special made little bookshelf with these boxes. I found the boxes and index card here and here. If you are interested in people making organizing pretty you should go see Judy of the Woods flckr pool on her slip method. She is a very inspiring person so if you are into sustainability and low tech organising you should check out her website

Shop update...

First I want to thank you all for the very helpful comments about the poster. I have finished it and hopefully will receive it from the press one of these days.

The new dresses and blouses are finished. The dresses are size 74 cl. - 92 cl. and the blouses are size 98 cl - 110 cl. The dresses would look really cute with cable knitted grey tights and boots like these ( they are actually boys boots but if I had a girl... she would be wearing these... ). The blouses would look great with jeans or corduroy pants and a scarf in off color.

Go see more details in the shop







My ceramic studio website has been out of function for a week, since my old provider closed down their server, I had to find a new place to host my site. I hope no one has had too many problems with that. It is functioning now and has new information about the opening hours in the studio and shop.

Favorite bag and favorite boots...

I read somewhere that women in the 1930's didn't consider themselves to be well dressed unless they had matching shoes, bag, gloves, scarf and hat. and if that's not enough it was also important for them that coat and accessories would match the rest of the outfit. This is how far i have used the whole concept.... i like it so far.....just a quick question here: what kind of hat, scarf, gloves would you use with this ?

I have to say I love shoes, and i really like when people write about shoes, especially when they write about the ones that stick around, the ones that last more than a season. you should go read ulrikas little essays about her shoes see it here and here.




My boots are from Andefødder ( duck feet ). I have had them for two years now and they just looks better and better. The leather is real thick and was not so easy to break in, but it is also the good quality leather that makes them so long lasting. I have a little plan to make some legwarmers to be worn over tights. The legwarmers should be inside the boots and stick out with 10 cm.

The bag is from Chloe and is a gift from John ( you see I probably would never buy something that expensive... ) I just love it. It is the perfect size and goes with me everywhere. It has a look that goes with high heels as well as my working boots. Some women have lots of bags and use a lot of time organising their stuff, and shifting it from one bag to the other. It would never work for me. I need one bag, one purse, Kleenex, lip balm, mobile, keys, paper and pen...not more....except all the extra things that somehow ends there ( oh I am such a mess... )

All those other things to do...

These days are mostly about getting the shop ready for christmas. I have put up new shelves and bars for all the new clothes and made tags of vintage puzzles . I am spending a lot of time bringing it all beautifully together in the shop, making sure that customers get all the information they need. Everyone who has a shop knows that is quite a bit of work.



On the picture above is also a sneek preview of the new design that will be in the shop monday. I can tell it is going to be a very girly day...




Today I am making a layout for a poster to be put up in the region. It has been great fun making. I wanted it to have a lot of pictures, mostly of products but also a few mood pictures from the studio and shop. I wanted the overall look to be a mixture of magazine layout and art excibition posters, and it should have the information peole needed : The name of the shop, address, pnonenumber, openinghours, a little map for direction, a subtitle that explain what I am selling and a little bit of writing explaining that everything is handmade in the studio etc. ( that part is not finished yet ( you see I am not the biggest writer but lucky me John is....so hopefully tonight we will finish the poster and send it to the press. I still need to change one of the pictures from the shop to a new one and better one. but this is what I have so far...

What do you think ?

If you have any idees, critique or maybe something that you find very important when you see a poster like that in your neighborhood....please let me know....

Shop Update...

There are new shirts in the shop. They are all made in cotton and a few in linen. With biasbinding and crocheted closures. They all have appliqued patches of vintage fabric on the albows.

The sizes are from 74 cl. to 100 cl. I have put sizing information on the website so it will be easy for both europeans and the rest of the world to find the right size.

Go take a look. These shirts looks really great with jeans. When it is cold use it with a thin longsleeved T shirt under, and mix it with a great scarf...

Cookie magazine and a little blanket...

I don't do a lot of decorating during summertime, got so many other things to do. With fall comes the urge to fix things and clean everything. And then Joanna Goddard writes me an email asking if she could do a house tour and interview on Cookie magazine . What a great way to start redecorating by seeing all the pictures of the appartment. See it all here, and when you are there take a look at some of the other house tours, there are some great ones.

I decided I was gonna make a little project for the bathroom floor. We needed something for our feet when stepping out of the shower. It had to be small enough to dry quickly and not take a lot of space in the washing machine.



It turned out I had some fabric in my stash that was not all natural fibers. Since I only use natural fibers in my clothing I really had no use for it, Except "not all natural fibers" is actually a good thing for a project like this. So this is what happened: a big granny square made with a gigantic crochet needle. It works perfect...

Oh ... The floor in the picture above is from the restroom at the studio. I really like it, and would wish we had the same floor and light in our bathroom here in the appartment.

Sock knitting and a dear friend...

The fall is here... it's raining and I like it... maybe I like it because I know I don't have to leave the house today. Having a city apartment with trees right outside the windows is really a thing. Right now colours of the leaves are changing every day, then in the start of december the branches will be decorated with christmas lights. Not bad at all.

I have been knitting a lot lately, but sometimes I just need something not complicated I can work with while taking care of Seth or cooking dinner.

Just a quick question here: Do you knit in the kitchen in between cutting potatoes and waiting for the egg plants to toast in the oven ? and Do you knit in bed...? I do both. Is that bad...?

Okay, so what I do is having a lot of parallel projects, one of them will eventually be at a stage of some simple knitting. Then I can take care of the complicated parts when there is peace and quiet over the field and simple knitting creates peace and quiet... Once in a while I knit socks. Nothing fancy, just grey socks, I keep my sock knitting stuff in a cake can with everything I need, there is always enough yarn to start a new pair for whoever needs. No thinking of colours, patterns or is there eneough yarn, nope, just make those socks as you have done it so many times. And this time it was for me and Seth




Knitting in bed made me think of a friend of mine; whenever she got a new boyfriend, she started eagerly to knit something for him but then they allways broke up before the knitting was finished. She herself says she knitted them away. Does that sound familiar to anyone ? She is, by the way, now very happily expecting kiddo # 2 with a great guy. I once started a very complicated sweater for a new boyfriend and actually even tried ( with no succes ) to finish it for the next boyfrind in line. And NO, I did not have a lot of guys comming around, as I said it was a VERY COMPLICATED sweater. I actually finished the sweater and gave it to brother in law even if it was a bit too big for him...




A couple of years ago I made a holder for my knitting needles and different other accessories. It is made of an old embroided tablecloth and has a very sturdy lining. It has a double compartment for both longer and shorter needles, and a couple of earrings I use as markers. I still haven't figuered out a good way to store my circular needles.




Even if it is raining, this is not a grey day and I might do a lot of writing about grey stuff since I like grey and I just have to show you these very nice traditional mittens a friend ( who lives way to far away from us ) gave to me. I cherish them a lot and I am allways afraid of loosing them. They are very skillfully made by a lady she knows. Luckily for the mittens I dont bike a lot so they are not worn out, I hope they will last for many more years.

This Friend has finally started blogging and you just have to check it out. She writes in sweedish but there is so many wonderfull pictures to see... This person never does anything half. She is a perfectionist and it shows. Go check it out...
At ullis blog I also found the link to a great vintageblog about clothes and just like Ullis blog this one is very honest and you get a great feeling of the person behind it.