Hey, Everyone! I'm getting excited and nervous as I plan with Anca of AncaDesigns for our first ever Trunk Show. The way we have it planned, you'll be able to come to the Trunk Show and try on our Designer Samples, purchase them on the spot or custom order from the samples.
We'll have Evening Gowns and Cocktail Dresses (shades of Austin Scarlett for you PR junkies) as well as Casual and Beach Wear, Accessories, Purses, Totes, Hats and much more! My friend Sandra Bearden of Jahari's Spiritual Jewelry is making some pieces just for this show and the garments in it! We are planning to have something for everyone and we will be right here to discuss each garment with you. Many of them have stories, so don't forget to ask!
The Summer Breeze Trunk Show and Sale will be on Sunday, April 13th beginning at 2 PM. Advance Tickets are $5 and At The Door Tickets are $10....but don't worry, your ticket price will be refunded with your first Trunk Show purchase.
If you'd like to reserve a ticket, please give me a call or leave a comment on this post. It promises to be a great show!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
March 19, 2008
My colleague Eva and I went to Marjorie Merriweather Post's estate and museum Hillwood today. We went to attend an interesting lecture about Callot Soeurs, a design house started by four sisters in Paris in 1895.
The lecture and tour was given by Mr. Kurtz who curates and maintains all of the clothing and textile collections at the estate/museum. The man is a walking textbook and very patient and eager to answer questions.
According to Mr. Kurtz, the sisters mother was a seamstress and their father dealt in antique fabrics and laces so they had a fabulous grounding for the venture. At the time they started their workroom Charles Worth was at the end of his career and due to their fantastic designs and the quality of their work, they were able to take his place as the premier design house.
The oldest sister, Marie did all of the design work, Margaret ran the workroom, Regina handled all of the finances and business details and Josephine handled the appointments and clients. By 1920, Regina and Josephine had left the business and Marie became the sole proprietor of the business with Margaret remaining to run the workroom.
At the time the sisters started Callot Soeurs, many of the design houses were beginning to bring in sewing machines to the workrooms. Callet Soeurs sewed every stitch of every garment by hand until 1933 when Marie passed away and her sons took over the house. By 1914, they employed 600 people in the workroom to bead, embroider and stitch and at their peak, they had 800 employees.
After the lecture we were led to Marjorie's dressing rooms (yes, plural!) where we were able to get up close and personal with the three extant gowns created for her by Callet Soeurs. The quality and workmanship was incredible and left me almost breathless thinking of the time and skill required to achieve those exquisite results.
If any of you ever have an opportunity to visit Hillwood Estate and Museum, do it! The grounds are fabulous, full of gardening ideas, the house is a treasure trove of Russian artwork, the house is a maze of rooms each more fantastic than the last and of course, there are the clothes, jewels, accessories, portraits and collections of everything under the sun.
I left feeling inspired by the designs and workmanship. I also felt a sense of responsibility to carry on the traditions of quality design and workmanship to share with all of you.
The lecture and tour was given by Mr. Kurtz who curates and maintains all of the clothing and textile collections at the estate/museum. The man is a walking textbook and very patient and eager to answer questions.
According to Mr. Kurtz, the sisters mother was a seamstress and their father dealt in antique fabrics and laces so they had a fabulous grounding for the venture. At the time they started their workroom Charles Worth was at the end of his career and due to their fantastic designs and the quality of their work, they were able to take his place as the premier design house.
The oldest sister, Marie did all of the design work, Margaret ran the workroom, Regina handled all of the finances and business details and Josephine handled the appointments and clients. By 1920, Regina and Josephine had left the business and Marie became the sole proprietor of the business with Margaret remaining to run the workroom.
At the time the sisters started Callot Soeurs, many of the design houses were beginning to bring in sewing machines to the workrooms. Callet Soeurs sewed every stitch of every garment by hand until 1933 when Marie passed away and her sons took over the house. By 1914, they employed 600 people in the workroom to bead, embroider and stitch and at their peak, they had 800 employees.
After the lecture we were led to Marjorie's dressing rooms (yes, plural!) where we were able to get up close and personal with the three extant gowns created for her by Callet Soeurs. The quality and workmanship was incredible and left me almost breathless thinking of the time and skill required to achieve those exquisite results.
If any of you ever have an opportunity to visit Hillwood Estate and Museum, do it! The grounds are fabulous, full of gardening ideas, the house is a treasure trove of Russian artwork, the house is a maze of rooms each more fantastic than the last and of course, there are the clothes, jewels, accessories, portraits and collections of everything under the sun.
I left feeling inspired by the designs and workmanship. I also felt a sense of responsibility to carry on the traditions of quality design and workmanship to share with all of you.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Introductions
Hello everyone =]
I'm Stephanie and I am currently an intern with Mrs. Johnson at The Marilyn Johnson Sewing and Creative Fabric Studio. I am also interning with another student, Rachel, but we both have different purposes of being here. I'm mainly focused on the marketing aspect of this business, while Rachel is here actually learning how to sew first hand with Mrs. Johnson.
Now...I'm excited to introduce the innovative and creative designer/mother/wife/mentor...Mrs. Johnson!
She's a really great mentor and has extensive knowledge in so many different fields of interest. So far I've been able to meet a lot of interesting clients that Mrs. Johnson has, such as Poe the mascot from the Baltimore Ravens. Never thought I would ever meet him in person. I've seen Mrs. Johnson work on so many different projects since I've been here. Her most recent was designing and then creating costumes for the White House Historical Association, which Rachel and I both got to be a part of. She's a very active member of the community and is a member of several different organizations. Mrs. Johnson just recently received an award for Maryland's Top 100 MBE's for the year 2007. If she isn't making costumes for an upcoming production, receiving acknowledgements for her accomplishments, or designing clothes for clients, she's being a mom.
Her son Kevin, just joined the Marine Corp this past summer and her daughter, Jessica just recently got married this past November. But now that her children are all grown up and on their own her main focus has been running her studio and keeping up with the lastest episodes of Project Runway, her alltime favorite tv show. Her theatrical closet consists of over 1000 costumes, so if you're ever looking to put on a show or maybe go out for a theme day, she can satisfy your needs. And if she doesn't have what you're looking for, she's always willing to custom design and create it for you.
This blog was my idea and so I started out this blog for Mrs. Johnson, but from here on out, she will be taking over the blog. She will be checking and updating it regularly so please feel free to stop by and take a look at her latest entries. Also, if you have any questions or comments, she wants to hear your feedback and answer any questions you may have.
Thank you =)
Stephanie
I'm Stephanie and I am currently an intern with Mrs. Johnson at The Marilyn Johnson Sewing and Creative Fabric Studio. I am also interning with another student, Rachel, but we both have different purposes of being here. I'm mainly focused on the marketing aspect of this business, while Rachel is here actually learning how to sew first hand with Mrs. Johnson.
Now...I'm excited to introduce the innovative and creative designer/mother/wife/mentor...Mrs. Johnson!
She's a really great mentor and has extensive knowledge in so many different fields of interest. So far I've been able to meet a lot of interesting clients that Mrs. Johnson has, such as Poe the mascot from the Baltimore Ravens. Never thought I would ever meet him in person. I've seen Mrs. Johnson work on so many different projects since I've been here. Her most recent was designing and then creating costumes for the White House Historical Association, which Rachel and I both got to be a part of. She's a very active member of the community and is a member of several different organizations. Mrs. Johnson just recently received an award for Maryland's Top 100 MBE's for the year 2007. If she isn't making costumes for an upcoming production, receiving acknowledgements for her accomplishments, or designing clothes for clients, she's being a mom.
Her son Kevin, just joined the Marine Corp this past summer and her daughter, Jessica just recently got married this past November. But now that her children are all grown up and on their own her main focus has been running her studio and keeping up with the lastest episodes of Project Runway, her alltime favorite tv show. Her theatrical closet consists of over 1000 costumes, so if you're ever looking to put on a show or maybe go out for a theme day, she can satisfy your needs. And if she doesn't have what you're looking for, she's always willing to custom design and create it for you.
This blog was my idea and so I started out this blog for Mrs. Johnson, but from here on out, she will be taking over the blog. She will be checking and updating it regularly so please feel free to stop by and take a look at her latest entries. Also, if you have any questions or comments, she wants to hear your feedback and answer any questions you may have.
Thank you =)
Stephanie
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