Autumn Silk

My friend asked me what vintage silks we had in stock which would be in the autumn mood, and which are not ikat.

Of course, we have plenty, because we are crazy collectors and buy a piece of silk whenever we see one. Given that it is beautiful, of course. Many of those pieces will not be offered in our shop - for instance, I will not part with my decadent black silk chiffon with mellow fruits and flowers, just like I had to keep one tunic of black, green and white silk chiffon to myself. (Of course there is still a small top from that silk for sale in the shop, but if it does not sell I keep it).

So, these are the autumn silks I currently have at home (click to see full size). Most of these are enough even for a dress, but none are in the amount sufficient for mass production. Which is perfectly fine with us. 

 And we still have a piece of the beautiful autumn colored silk with leaves like this, and can make a tunic similar to the one below or a blouse, or something else. Galina of Galafilc (upscale felt clothing and accessories) looks happy in the picture, and we are happy, too. Of course she has chosen the color wisely - it looks great on her (it is not surprising, given her perfect taste and sense of style, and we were very honored to make a custom order for her).

 If you fancy any of these fabrics, do not hesitate to write to me. It will be a pleasure for my mother to make a custom piece of clothing for you, based on your individual measurements and a pattern she will make herself. She loves it.

Creatures of Hollowbourne

I know I promised not to make any shop reviews. You can find enough around and I personally become somewhat tired of reviews, sponsors, etc. No sponsors here, promise.

And this is not a review. I just have to share these amazing, funny, cute and very different creatures I have just stumbled upon while looking for something to give to my sister. She will be 12 in November (and will be 35 in December, by the way - how to you like the gap? Same parents).

So, I was looking for something nice for her - lovely and unusual - and found these! A furry small copper fox brooch, a hug me kitty cat brooch, a tuxedo-or-black-and-white-cat-enamel pendant, a tiny-feathered-chick-bird-brooch and a small-happy-dragon-brooch.

To say 'I like them' would mean not to say anything. I am smashed by the fox's nose (she looks a bit like ant-eater) and her tail; by the sweet smile of the hug me cat, by the huge eyes of the hanging black and white cat (ever seen a cat hung like that? their eyes look exactly like this) and the lonesome thoughtful bird. And then comes the dragon! The small happy dragon! with the paws, sticking in front of him in the most hilarious way, and with a fiercely happy smile, and altogether he is a bit like a turkey!...

I am exhausted of admiration. I looked up the artist's name - it is Mandy Hollowell, and she has a blog here. I will go and look for more dragons now. I might buy one for myself, I am still young enough for them!

Update: The first two readers said they loved the bird (they call it crow) most of all. As for me, I am drawn to the fox and the dragon. And what is your favorite?  Please share!

...The majority voted for the bird.

And today my mother came to visit me and of course I demonstrated my finds to her, too. She was thrilled (especially with the Hug Me Cat and the Happy Dragon - we have very similar tastes). Now she is asking if Mandy could make a unicorn for my sister. Katherine's favorite book is The Talking Parcel by Gerald Durrell (I wrote about it here), and there are unicorns, so she will be happy to have one.

National Sewing Month (I Steal That One, Too!)

Sheryl Hastings of Sher's Creative Space has informed that September is the National Sewing Month. I did not pay notice at first, for what is American National Sewing Month to us? We live in Uzbekistan. But then I stumbled upon that post again today and thought - what the heck? It is not our fault that we do not have a National Sewing Month. And my mother deserves being congratulated and admired for her skills an hard work, on any occasion and without an occasion, too. 

Dear mom, I love what you are doing! The shop is thriving now, and  I hope it will be developing further. I love our new photos, and the new vintage silks we bought, and the vintage pieces we are now offering. And I still hope to receive my own silk ikat wrap jacket in pastels this autumn  (yes, I know you have a lot on your plate already, and my closet is bursting, but who would not want to wear a piece made from that amazing silk?). Thank you, and I wish you a lot of health, energy and inspiration.

Hope it Is OK to Steal Your Widget

It can be really useful to look carefully at others' blogs - not just for the content, but also for widgets.

I often read Memoriesforlifescrapbooks - Edi has a lovely style of writing, her photos are very good, and the blog is just nice to visit. Somehow it has a very homely and cozy feel. She is a very nice and friendly person, too - always responds to comments and says thank you for Treasuries (she even posts them on her blog with links to the curators!). Who would not want to include her items? And, of course, they ask to be included, being beautiful and stylish, and with excellent pictures - take a look at her shop, memoriesforlifesb.

...I know I can never be short in my writing - bear with me. I will try to be more consise.

So, I found an interesting widget at the left sidebar of her blog. It looks a bit like the one provided by the Craftcult, but simpler in design. I followed the link to the source, and found this - http://cr8tivity.com.

Looks like the place is fool of useful things. I have not checked all of them yet, but I like the 'Shop Helper' that produces a downloadable Excel inventory of all items in the shop. '...It contains the columns Listing Id, State, Title, Creation Date, Number of Views, Price, Expiration Date, Quantity, Section Title, Sold?, Listing Fee, Selling Fee, Shipping Fee, and Date Sold'.  I will think of how to incorporate it into my Excel based accounting system; I am sure it can be done.

So, Edi, I have to thank you for this widget, too.  I will certainly be around.

My Mother is a Star!

...No, not a star - a super star!

Of course, I always knew that, but now I have another proof - an interview with her has been published at Katrinshine blog. This is great news news, and mom is extremely pleased  and flattered by the fact. Katrin has a really nice shop with lovely and stylish items such as jewelry, bags, pillows, and even high end corsets, and her request for an interview was a very pleasant surprise.

My mother has never ever given an interview before, and she was not quite sure what to talk about and where to start, so I suggested to start from things that interest her most, rather than try to cover everything, including her school years, books she loves and her kids. Those topics would have to be covered in about twenty additional interviews.

There is not much more to write - maybe you will just take a look at the interview. It is entirely hers; I just translated it. I must say, I love her approach to clothing design.

I hope that this is the beginning of the international recognition of Mulberry Whisper, and hopefully we will become rich and famous one day. Katrin, thank you very much for helping us with the first steps towards the goal!