Virtual Hugs From Readers This Week

          In one of those fluke amazing and cool things at the same time, this past week I heard from a reader off the blog who found one of my grandfather's coats in a thrift store in Greensboro and stumbled across my blog while doing research in the company he and my grandmother used to run. Even more amazing they reached out to me. This week, I got pictures and a note. A lot of people ask me why I sew or pattern make, and it's for notes and stories like this from customers. Hearing that a piece of clothing spoke to you. That we changed or improved your life for the better, giving you a hug from my hands to yours that though you may never see my face, but you will feel my hands. Helping bring joy, beauty, and laughter to your life. Even if we never meet in person, I still want you to feel my love. For life, for living, for being you. Because life is an amazing gift. And it's worth sharing with those around us. Especially the love and beauty of it.

                 As anyone whose met me in person can attribute, I'm rather blunt and fairly introverted so this inner happiness does not translate over well. I often struggle to express my basic like of people in ways they can hear without being overwhelmed by too much stimulation. I think that's actually fairly common in the trades, but it makes me treasure the notes I get so much. Any I love seeing this coat being enjoyed years later from my grandfather's hands 25 years later. Knowing he would be smiling in his grave at the idea of having made a future customer he hadn't yet met warm would tickle him. So, this has been my virtual hug for the week. Have any good news to share?

50% Off Summer Collection for Sparkcon

                Hey guys! Welcome to the blog. This week we are dusting off the tables for SparkCon. We have two really great announcements. The first is that we are putting our Pearls of Wisdom summer collection on sale for 50% off in person this weekend. So if you missed out on getting the perfect hat or scarf this summer, nows your chance to pick up a really great last minute deal of the season.
      Because who doesn't love a sale? Check back tomorrow when we give you a taste of our new fall collection: Beloved which we will be unveiling at SparkCon. I'll give you a hint, lots of leather and lace.

Have a great day one and all.

PS- Please note this sale is only available in person for the show. It is not available online.

Textile Friday: The Tipping Point To Becoming A Master

                    " Is it better to be a jack of all trades, or to pursue mastery?" ~Jeff Goins

 
           What is mastery? This week, I thought I would share a wonderful writer I've been reading recently Jeff Goins. He's got a great blog that has really solidified a lot of things I've been turning over in my mind this year on what it means to be master in the crafts.
           In the trades, no one hands you a diploma when you become a master. It's not a title or a test you can take. It's a title earned over time by word of mouth by your peers. It's not a sort of imperfect perfection or an inability to be wrong. Experts are wrong ALL the time. Especially in fashion which is a marriage of art and commerce. You don't understand what a designer wants. What a customer wants. What the limits of a particular design or material are. You miss the season. Or fall in love with a concept that no one else gets. You practice every day. Being a master will not make you skinny, hot, popular, or well-loved.
            In textiles, they say that it takes 10 years to get established and 20 to 25 years to become a master is typical. It's a long game business where being over 50 is considered an asset, not a liability for a designer/manufacturer. Gaining mastery in this business is also something that involves A LOT of failure. I'm not talking about once or twice or even a hundred times. It's said that to master a particular motion or stroke takes 10,000 times of doing it. That's a lot of sewing and a lot of not right. It's one of the things that got me into production sewing, the average production sewer will do a particular process 600 to 1600 times a DAY, that means every few weeks you can master a particular element that I've seen local boutique sewers struggle with or develop workarounds instead of the actual skill necessary to pull off the ideal result. Being a home sewer most of my life and getting into this business late as an adult, making a few bags or shirts a week, I figured I'd never get there unless I got serious. This wasn't my first thought, or my first year's thought, but it's a thought that I wish I had realized a lot sooner. Perhaps it was more when I realized there was no way to avoid this level of commitment to pain.
            Because failing sucks. Your fingers bleed. Rip. You get scars from iron burns. And callouses in weird places. Your back hurts. And your right leg and knee cramp from the unfamiliar twists and turns of operating a knee-lift and foot petal at the same time. Your arms and shoulders distort themselves in thin ropes of fire. The first three months of working an assembly line in Charlotte were the type of hell I would never wish on anyone. The first three weeks, I didn't know if I would survive to the next day. I mean throw up in a trash can, get off and plow your way into a couch bone tired exhausted asleep. Food forgotten. I was homeless that summer, living out of my car and crashing at the studio in this odd state of confusion my family has left me in most of my life having burnt through my savings the past 6 months on a failed store front on 7th Street and helping my folks not lose their home that had all the right earmarks of success, but none of the actual measures of it.
           My mother's parting gift before she jetted off to "write her book" was the fact that she had me as a last ditch attempt to save her marriage. I'd always known she didn't want kids early on, that I wasn't her favorite. Hell, sometimes she hated me, but hearing you were created as a last minute bandaid for a failing relationship and coming to grips with the fact that 29, love and acceptance are something that are ever going to come from a flighty artist writer mother was both devastating and also stripped away any breaks on balance.
             I still have the dog from that summer, but not much else. I gave or sold away almost everything I owned. Burned through relationships and resources like candy. Unable to walk away from sewing. I have never in all my life met anything that rivaled the feeling of peace I get working with my hands creating tangible goods. It's like finding a zen moment suddenly in the middle of a noisy street. And I needed it desperately. Sometimes, you find what you need at the end of your rope. Sewing was that for me at that point.
             I've always been told I have good hands. I've been hunted by surgeons for medical procedures. Had a boss tell me that if he had my hands he could rule the world. The sad part, is most of the time, the praise didn't last beyond the moment. It never brought the peace that sewing and designing textiles has. Sometimes, I still can't believe people will actually pay me for what I make, that what I make changes the world. Some days I hate the machine and my crippled hands for not creating my vision fast enough or clean enough to truly serve those around me.
              There's moments that mark us, that we can't unsee or unlive. In many ways, finding my version of the family tailor trade has been incredibly healing. It has also included a lot of suffering. Most of it, my own doing. My name Dara means dwelling place of wisdom and compassion. Compassion is one of those nasty little words that means "with suffering." Yes, that's right....wisdom with suffering. Living with it. You give up a lot to master a trade. To learn a skill. And it's something that I think everyone struggles to decide if they truly want to do or not. There's plenty of things I wish I was better at or had more time for, but you only have so much time in the day and so many things you can do.
              But, if you want to be a master, then it's a deal you make. There's this point about a year or two in where you see people decide to throw in the towel or double-down and I've decided it's the early tipping point between success and failure. People may throw away that mastery or decide to pursue other things, but there's a moment you decide to go all in that really seems to make the difference between success and failure. Well, this post was a bit rambling...just my thoughts on masters in the trades. I wish you success in your travels too. And a warm thanks to Nash for putting up with all my single-minded determination and absentmindedness. Love you. Happy Friday everyone!

Big Thanks to Ruthan for Our New Signage!

              Wow, after 2 years... we officially have snazzy office signs. Now when you walk up the stairs you'll know where to actually go. Pretty awesome. These are long overdue, but I tend to invest in the obvious last and focus on the making first. Probably not the best idea, but I do have great sewing machines! A girl has to have priorities.
              Now customers won't get lost trying to find the studio which is great. The front office is our sales office and the back office is the sewing "Sweatshop." If you need to reach the sales office, please e-mail me at: dsmcginn1@lisashay.com
               We are currently booked at full-time capacity so we are limiting new clients and designers to clients we feel are a good match. Primarily, designers that are ready to make the jump from one-offs to short production runs for light garments and store owners interested in carrying a local designer. Our minimum order for short runs is 100, but we prefer to do 1,000 on accessories in 4-6 styles. Full deposits are required up-front. Average turn around time is 2-6 weeks depending on the order size. Current times are averaging around 2 weeks, but now that we're fully booked this may go to 4 weeks.
                Have a great day and look forward to seeing what the week brings. And Ruthan, you are awesome! Thank you so much! The signs look great. You are our hero! Whoot! Whoot!

Whimsical British Hats

         This week we're having fun riffing on the classic British Barret and rediscovering my love of hats. I wore one the entire summer I was in France much to my fellow exchange students amusement.
          Hats are a lovely defining part of someone's wardrobe. Fun and flirty. Serious and mysterious. The fastest moving part of fashion, I'm glad that they are making a comeback since the British wedding last year. Hats add such personality to a wardrobe. I've been rereading about Chanel this week and how she got her start in France trimming hats for the ladies. Very inspiring. I hope you are finding something to inspire you and bring out your fightin' spirit.
           Check them out in our Etsy shop for different styles.

Review from Woodworking Night at Todd's Studio

            Thanks everyone who came out last night to make birdhouses, spinning tops, and generally have fun in Todd's woodshop learning to turn. It was most exciting. I had a great time making my first spinning top and never knew woodworking could be that fun. No one in the group had ever turned before so it was exciting to see people mastering the basics. It was also very humbling to see a master at work. Todd does some incredible one-off projects and unique pieces of beauty.
             It's really wonderful that his shop is so close to ours and I know a number of people are excited to head back in a few days. My head is still spinning, literally from all I learned last night. Some of the cooler things I learned was about aging and seasoning word for years to dry it out and how most wood is turned in stages to prevent it from cracking. Most pieces you see are actually what is called "twice turned" where it is turned in a rough form, allowed to dry for a year or two, and then turned again gently to bring out the inner beauty. While you can turn objects on a lathe very quickly, the actual process of making wooden pieces of art takes years beginning from the selection, cutting, and drying process.
             I'm definitely looking forward to going back and trying my hand at doing more pieces. While it seems abitious, I would like to try making a wooden bowl in the future. Hopefully some of the other group members will get to have fun hanging out with Todd this summer too. Have a great day everyone and look forward to seeing you at the next Etsy Tuesday night meeting in a few weeks.

April 21st: Guest Lecturing at the Visual Art Exchange

        This week, I will be downtown speaking at the Visual Art Exchange on Saturday, April 21st at 3:30 pm on selling online, specifically on Etsy and our local Acorn to Oak Handmade Team which is dedicated to helping local artists and craftsmen make a living selling online. A lot of people as me why I created a local team for this purpose and why I mention Etsy repeatedly as a good venue for up and coming artists to get started on making a living.
         Mostly, it gets down to money and time. Of the 24 some places I opened an online shop the first year I had a design company, the only place I ever sold art or crafts online was Etsy. There's a saying that without money, artists disappear. I don't know if it's true, but I do know that hunger is a great driver both into and out of a given field. As a designer, in a wonderful co-op, surrounded by great talent, I feel it is part of my job to help my fellow friends and companions grow. Since 1994, online sales are the only venue that's growing. That means for the last 20 years, the only pie that's growing is the internet pie. Having spent a decade in sales before starting Li Sashay, I can tell you that the internet is having a pervasive, eroding effect on traditional sales outlets. Traditional sales associates are being slashed out of the process as it becomes cheaper and easier to market to the online crowd. Why give 70% of the profit away when you can reduce it to 5-8% online?
        And therein, lies the problem, most artists find when they set up their webpage. You can set-up a store now for under $100 a yr. that will be interesting, well-designed, and protected. It will not however, get you traffic or sales. It is simply too easy and the bar too low for most people to be effectively heard online at this venture. Even with buying advertising on google, facebook, or starting a blog is generally useless for getting direct sales. So where can you be heard? In general there are three main selling platforms: Amazon, eBay, and Etsy for an artist to be heard on from a financial aspect. Of these, Amazon and eBay are so big, they are controlled mostly by larger corporations. 38% of eBay's income comes from a mere 14 companies. That leaves 1 place for an up and coming artist to be heard effectively: Etsy.
      No system is perfect, of the available platforms, this is the best at this time for getting traffic if you make unique or handmade items. Two years ago, a person needed between 25-50 items in their shop to make consistent sales. Today most people have increased the number to 100-300 items in a shop to sell effectively. I would place the number closer to the 200-300 mark if you want daily sales. For many part-time designers...this may represent a year or two of work, but still doable if you are willing to be patient. Etsy is a great place to get started and I highly recommend it. Alright, stop in Sat for the full lecture if you want specifics. I will have hand-outs with websites, names, and contact info for people who are looking for details. Hopefully this will help some of my fellow artists in the area. I won't claim to know it all, but am happy to offer up some wisdom from what has and has not worked for me. Please be aware that there are much more talented designers and artists in the area making a lot more than I am on Etsy at the moment. If you want to know more, I suggest talking to/contacting some of the other forum members if you want to find a good mentor or coming to one of our Tuesday night meetings.

Visual Art Exchange
309 West Martin Street
Raleigh, NC 27601

Textile Friday: The Fashion 40%

       Ahhh, fashion...the wardrobe spark that makes you, you. This is your voice to express your taste. The hardest, most fickle part of building a wardrobe. Most fashionistas, stylists, and who's who scramble each year to pull out the trends for the season. If you watch the runways, people will talk about this or that being in. How, every 6 months you throw everything away and start over. While this is not true for your core wardrobe, it is often true for a handful of "in" items that are in every season. 99% of the waste and fun of the fashion industry comes from "fashion." Fashion is the little things that make you, you. Think of style as the canvas and fashion as the paint. Fashion is the flirty shoes you have for your date night, your favorite bracelet cuff you wear with your jeans, the hot little top you just can't live without.
         Style.com makes a great "shopping guide" you can see here. These cute earrings are from their spring guide. It will tell you what prints are in and accessories. In general, fashion has a 2 1/2 year turn cycle so you will need to buy 1 piece every season to stay current. This will be 40% of you overall shopping budget. However, the point of fashion is to express your taste not slavishly follow what the "experts" say. In general taste changes with time. The you of today will not necessarily like the things you do 5 years later. And that's fine.
         If you are in love with butterflies, or a particular movie, or something in particular speaks to you, buy it. Don't second guess yourself. This season I'm into the concept of lunch escapes, this fall it will be something different. Fashion accessories are traditionally:

1. Jewelry- Your watch, earrings, necklace, bracelet, etc. Many people will buy an entire set (matching necklace, bracelet, and earrings) instead of just 1 or 2 pieces at time. There's some really great jewelry talent in the area. This is something I particularly love to shop for at arts and crafts shows as a small unique piece of wearable art.

2. Hats- Come and go. Some people never wear them, some people are never without them. Hats in general are the fastest changing items of fashion. They provide a perception of elongating the face so people with short necks or particularly round faces often do well with hats. Choose a hat that goes with your face.

3. Summer Bag- While your everyday leather bag should be the highest quality you can buy, many people have a second summer cloth bag or purse to drag to the park or on vacation that they will switch out every few years. It is often wise to have your bag complimentary to your spring scarf in case the weather leads you to a cross over.

4. Fashion Shoes- I like to think of these as flirty date shoes. But then I have like 12 pairs so no comment. The women's shoe department is called the "shark tank" in retail for a reason. Many guys have summer sandals or tennis shoes.

5. Athletic workout gear- Have a favorite sport, budget it in your fashion wardrobe part. Athletic gear rarely works as long as core wardrobe. Much of it today has spandex which tends to fall apart.

6. Sexy Lingerie/Swimwear- Summer swim trucks or that hot little number? Apply here.

7. Scarves/Prints- Many of the season's prints are lovely on a silk scarf and much cheaper than in a dress. These go really great if lighter colored to flatter your face in the spring when you're washed out from the pale winter season.

8. Winter Scarves, Gloves, Mittens, and Specialty Wear- Alright, I've mentioned the basics, now remember that accessories vary according to your taste. If you live in the tropics, you may want to pick up some beach sarongs, or in New York...a beautiful pair of leather gloves.

             Whatever you buy, enjoy. This is my grandfather's gift to me. I hope that it will keep you in good company as well. I miss him very much and this is my regift to you, my readers of a small portion of the wisdom he lent me. Have a great week and check in next week when we go motorcycle racing.


       

Recap: Part 2 of the 3D Printer Workshop

     Welcome back from another fun Acorn to Oak meeting on 3D printing. I am so excited to see this technology take off.  Last week everyone put together the electronics, this week everyone put together the outside frame to their 3D printers. One of the neat things about this event is there is almost nothing I can actually name in terms of parts going into these classes. It's a treasure hunt each week in identifying and being exposed to this wonderful world I had never thought about before. While there were a lot of cool things, the two neatest things in my mind for the evening was learning how shrink wrap tubing works and assembling the base. You can see Evan working on a neat stepper motor on the right.

           Once you finish your work, you wrap it in this loose plastic that when exposed to heat...suddenly shrinks. It's pretty neat stuff. While there's a lot of little tricks to assembling the outside, it's impressive when the last piece is installed or the y-axis. You can see Kevin hard at work here.

        I will post more pictures on facebook after I get a chance to look through them. It's so cool to see this all come together. Can't wait to show you all more next week. It's hard to think in 2 weeks all these machines will be up and printing.

         Yeah! Check in tomorrow for a really awesome surprise and the last of our 3 part series in how to build a wardrobe that saves you money.

Opening A New Door

         "There is a time for everything." -King Solomon Ecclesiastes

          Thanks everyone who came out to the photoshoot this weekend. It was fun to have you all. I've been spending the weekend relaxing and enjoying the weather. I love sharing the beauty of this area with others.
            Moving out to our new location has been amazing in terms of feeling as if it's also a positive parallel shift for both the company and myself personally. It's forced me to take a hard look at our personal and professional habits. Some of which need to change. Like personally drinking more water and taking lunch breaks to work-out, the company seems due to a similar tune-up. One of the great things about getting a new space is it shakes out the cobwebs of habit.
              Some of these have been obvious to me, I just hestitated to make the change. One is a desire to stop teaching beginning classes on a regular basis and cut back on my responsibilities that do not directly involve our company mission statement. I love the occasional moonlighting for a girl friend or guest invitation, but I've always felt happier working with my hands than giving lectures. There's something very real about making something people wear everyday with my hands that makes the smiles seem more real to me. Anyways, I hope to do more fun clothing this year. I've got a few surprises up my sleeve for spring and some new textiles I hope you enjoy. To a new exciting season and fun looks. Have a great day.

Booth Babes and Trade Shows- Allegra and April

       Today we are visiting with 2 of my favorite models for tradeshows: Allegra and Apil. Both of these women have great personalities for doing events/new product releases. Allegra's tradename is more commonly know as the Chainmail Chick. April is wicked good with custom make-up for events. If you need to hire someone to help you market a new product or try out a concept, I highly recommend both these ladies.

Don't worry, they will be making more presentations on the blog as the spring season progresses. Especially as Animazement rolls around. We need more spunky little fire pixies. Both of these girls are very thin and petite so they are ideal for accessories and catalog. If you are doing American sizing...that's a 00. I find accessories do really great on them, especially hats.

Have a great day and see you back tomorrow when we explore the theater.

PS- For any Acorn to Oak Group Members if you are local in the area, these young ladies have very reasonable event rates if you plan to do any major events this spring, be sure to stop and talk with them. You won't be disappointed.

Textile Friday: The 2 W's: Water and Walking

         Today we're going to talk about a sensitive topic, a girl's weight. I've put on a few pounds myself the past few years since giving up working retail and like most of us it's beginning to catch up with me personally. It does little good to have a closet full of beautiful clothes I can't wear. My grandfather's advice that the best way to look good on a budget is to build a good wardrobe relies on the idea that one is already exercising the control  to maintain their weight in the first place.

         The simple fact is that as Vogue or any experienced designer will tell you while there's a lot we can do with clothing to bring out your best features, being thin/your ideal weight is an advantage over almost everything else. 10 or 15 lbs. lost will do wonders to your posture, walk, and fit. So how does one lose the weight? The million dollar question? The answer generally lies with water and walking.  That's the Weight Watchers joke that the 2 W's stand for Water and Walking. There's a lot of truth to that simple answer. Substituting water for calories helps you gradually lose weight. And walking increases your base metabolism. So this week I dug out my old water bottle and sprung for a new pair of tennis shoes from the shoe guys downstairs. It's not sexy or instant like the diet ads, but real beauty often takes work and time. I've got to slim down a bit by October to fit in the wedding dress my grandfather gave me. A worthwhile goal in my book. If you've been meaning to drop a few yourself or been putting off taking the plunge, I invite you to join me as I work on an adult perspective on beauty.

         Next week, we'll go over how to build a wow wardrobe on a budget. This is old advice from my grandfather, I hope it will help you as much as it has me.

New Visitor: Mobile Convience Store

Need fuel to that late night art project? We had a lovely visitor over this past week, the new Mobil Mini-mart is coming to Roth complete with tasty snacks, chocolate, and deliciousness. You can check them out on facebook, twitter, or their webpage. Their website has a gps tracker so you can figure out exactly where it is down to the ft. I'm so excited to have this new tasty addition to our location and hope to have them drop by for some Tuesday night get togethers.

Plus, they carry miso soup along with the normal hot dogs, tacos, and snack food. A place after my own heart.

Check them out on facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mobile-Mini-Mart/232470686814464

Can't wait to have them back again.

Textile Friday: The Race For Convertible Footwear

              I love shoes. I mean REALLY love shoes. I've made some, probably will make more, but won't claim to be an expert. There's a lot that standard, and a lot that's open to interpretation and personal style. One of the quiet revolutions that people are fighting for in this down market since Sheila's Heels in 2005 (some would argue earlier) is convertible 2-in-1 (or more) shoes that can function as multiple looks or most popularly as both heels and flats. Ironically this trend came out of the car insurance industry to improve female driving behind the wheel. Go figure. There are a number of companies failing at this concept and 2 that I think are doing a great job out of Chicago and Germany.
              The latest failure is made by Night2Day which features 5 different heel heights for office to work. This is one of several companies that has tried to launch this idea in the last 2-3 years and while the funding levels vary, I remain skeptical of the viability of the overall project. Every woman loves the idea of being able to switch in and out of those killing high arches at will. The major problem I see at this point is referred to as the 1/2 inch rule that most actual cobblers use. This states that for every 1 inch of heel height a woman increases her foot, there is a corresponding 1/2 shrink in the foot sole print. That's why many women drop shoe sizes as the heel height increases, you need a snugger fit or the shoe will fall off. You'll also see your foot literally come out of the shoe if you do not have strap on top. I have yet to see any major shoe company peddling the flat'n'heels idea address this specific problem that a shoe sole needs to shrink with heel height to some extent to remain comfortable. Until that I will be passing up buying a pair for $150 on their website: http://www.convertible-heels.com/Day2Night.html. No offense to the lovely ladies involved.
              In case you think I'm doom in gloom here, there are several other companies that have successfully bridged the gap of offering multiple shoes for 1 price. Their success is awesome and worth talking about as they've taken unusual solutions and should be rewarded in my mind for their creativity, beauty, and inventiveness. It's also a testament to their hard work in the face of a graveyard of companies who have not been able to do what these handful have accomplished. Their prices are reasonable and often affordable for a fashionista.
              My first favorite is the local US company, Mohop. They're an amazing Chicago company that makes convertible sandals using CNC and computer modeling technology! I really can not say enough good things about this company. I love companies that are using their brains to make a difference. They use sustainable local woods to create bases that can be custom finished with bands of fabric woven into different patterns and colors across the foot. Best of all, when you get tired of one look, a few pulls or new fabric and voila...a new you is born. Check-out the youtube video for further drool factor. Yum, yum, yum....These average between $70-170 range with new colored strings and accessories being $3-10. A totally affordable, ecofriendly shoe! If I only had enough money to buy 1 pair of shoes this year...these would be it!

               The second major company is more urban hip hop than my taste (read great brand, but a little too young for me in my opinion). It's a Munich company called Nat-2 and they're currently winning a bunch of awards. Their product is fairly easy to understand in which they use zippers to allow you to attach different uppers to your shoe sole. You have probably already seen them in several popular movies such as Transformers, etc. Their current 4-in-1 shoe is my favorite.They're a little pricey, but not over the top. Check out their website. The Nat-2 is more versatile, but more prone to failure as zipper teeth fail more easily than static loops do.

                I could easily mention a couple other shoe companies that are riffing on this idea of the year, but I won't because I have yet to see any of them indicate they're actually going to be successful vs. these 2 are worth investing in. You're seeing a lot of this 1 object/ multiple ways to wear it this year and it's a lovely trend despite it's limitations. A great way to stretch your dollars further in this recovering economy. Donna Karen did an awesome little black dress of this for her Christmas 2011 Collection and it's simply amazing. We'll also discuss the 6 inch rule next Fri which is why objects like this despite their popularity during down economies often do not have staying power as the overall economy recovers. Mostly, it gets down to fit.
               
            

Textile Friday: Perspective: The Value of Age

             "Respect the old while searching for the new." -Morimoto (Iron Chef)


           I've been catching up on my New Year's resolution for reading and wanted to talk today not about the future, but the past. This is the hardest lesson I have had to learn as an adult. That I do not know it all. To be a good designer, you must know your tools. To be an extraordinary designer, you must know the past. Many people forget in the face of our rapid technological increases, the value of old wisdom. There's a lot of experience that living imparts that can not be replicated or stolen. A machine run according to a manual that does not assume failure results in a hunk of broken metal. Real expertise comes not from expecting a perfect system, but knowing all systems are opening to failure and allowing for it. The harder part comes in being willing to fix them. And having the knowledge to do so.
            A beginner sits at a sewing machine and sews for an hour only to think that they have mastered the concept by completing the class. An master knows that a pattern must be drafted, corrected, redrafted, cut, recut, ironed, sewn, ironed again, and finally tested. Many master crastmen do all of this with 40 years experience at a speed that is both humbling and mind-blowing. Really getting a skill is the work of years not minutes. Sketching a concept may be the work of minutes or an hour, it takes longer to create the real thing. Add to that raw materials must be bought and costs figured. Machines must be oiled and maintained. The final product must be tested in the marketplace. That's why real commercial patterns that have been tested over time have such value, because of all the built in failures of the master you are not required to make to reach their conclusions. Or why established design shop equipment is so valuable.
           You should respect a master craftsmen for the time and effort he has put into learning his craft. This is a real skill and this is why design shops consider skilled labor of all types to be preferential. Be warned, you will limit yourself if you allow this sense of accomplishment to get in the way of your common sense. Skill rests upon the value of your equipment.  And equipment can always be improved. Your hands, feet, mind, soul, and body are part of that equipment set.
           A wise man prizes his tools for this reason and has several sets at his disposal. He also knows that tools tend to, like skills, get better over time. Right now the price of robotics is going down significantly. In another 5 years it will likely be 3D pattern drafting. Watching the industry as a whole as seeing where it is going is important. And this is the second part of this proverb by one of my favorite chefs, that the new always exists right beyond our grasp ready to surprise, delight, and frustrate us with it's unguessed beauty. Thanks Morimoto.


Have a great weekend everyone. May you grow in wisdom and may your workshop find new tools in it soon.
           

Jan 17th: Models'n'Lace

Can't wait to see everyone for the tomorrow night Quilting Bee. Now, let's look towards next week when we will be spending our time flashing smiles at models and making super pretty lace! This event is free and open to the public!

As always we will be meeting at:

The Conference Room at Techshop RDU
5905 Triangle Drive
Raleigh, NC 27617
(919) 782-2344

Call if you get lost, we can't wait to see you.

7-8 pm Working with Models It's Allegra and Katie time this week as we get to spend an hour working with these lovely ladies on photography shots. I hope that this will allow everyone the chance to work on their photos and lighting. You are welcome to bring your own camera or us one of ours, I will be uploading all the photos afterwards for anyone who does not have ready access to a camera. I really hope that everyone has fun and gets to learn a lot.

If you would like to book them for more work, their going rates are $100/ half day and $200/full day. Pick up their cards and feel free to check out some local model talent.

8-10 pm Beginning Lace-making

Tues night we're celebrating North Carolina's lace-making history. For those of you who aren't aware, North Carolina had a number of famous lace factories until the 1970s when they were shut down to move overseas. Many of the factories have since reopened in the 1990s only instead of making lace for ladies to wear, they are being used by the health care industry in research to knit living tissue together. It's a little wild to think that your new artery or skin might come from one of these vintage machines. Today we will be paying homage to that with a little traditional lace-making 101. This is still popular in Europe as way to make a living, especially if you like crocheting or knitting. Please wear comfortable clothes you can get dirty as stuffing lace pillow bases with saw dust can get on clothing. Everyone should get a free pillow to take home to make more of their own lace after this event.

Lace making traditionally occurs on a pillow that has been stuffed with saw dust, shavings, or straw to provide a firm base. Richard from Triangle Outdoor Furniture is providing the dust for this event. The pillow is filled with at least 2 inches of wood shavings, then sewn or stapled shut. The most common form used is round as it allows for more mistakes.

Next the needles or bobbins are threaded and the paper pattern is laid out on the pillow. You begin filling in the pattern with 3 basic stitches that are alternated and pinned as you go to fill in the designs. We will have free downloaded designs on Italian Lace from the University of Arizona's public library at the meetings. You can visit the website here: http://www.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/books/ng1_lace.pdf to get an idea of available patterns.

When you get done, take the lace off the pillow and voila. You are ready to decorate your own outfit or give as a unique Valentine's Gift. Have a great week everyone and can't wait to have you drop in.

Day Twenty: The Ultimate Cat Scratching Post

          Today's post comes to you courtesy of Mike Hinman. My only real contribution to this project was sewing a straight line down some carpet, but totally worth it. This project seemed too easy and awesome not to share. Mike's two kittens are holy terrors when it comes to trimming their nails so Mike designed the ultimate cat scratching post so that he would no longer have to suffer torn up furniture. I thought this was absolutely brilliant and pretty cost affordable so had fun putting it up on instructables here:

http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Ultimate-Cat-Scratching-Post/

I hope you have fun looking. And feel free to ask him questions at Techshop. Because cats are awesome! And cat scratching posts are just as awesome! Happy Weekend everyone! See ya back monday.

Jan 10th: Linus Foundation from 7-10 pm

Location: Conference Room of Techshop RDU
               5905 Triangle Drive Raleigh, NC 27617
Time: 7-10 pm

Hey Everyone from the Acorn to Oak Handmade group, this coming week we will making quilts to donate to the Linus foundation for the children at Wake Med Hospital, Duke, and children of soldiers who need blankets during deployment. We will have lots of fabric and quilts in various sizes to finish. The three sizes we will be making are:

Baby 30" by 36"
Child 40" by 60"
Teen 45" by 72"

No prior experience is necessary. You are welcome to take home any quilts you do not finish and bring them back by Febuary 7th completed if you would like to finish extra details. We will be taking the first hour of that meeting to handsew together any remaining quilts that need it. We will be monogramming the names of everyone who works on each quilt in the bottom before giving them to Susie Holmes so the kids can know who gave them this gift. We will be focusing on making the larger blankets, specifically for boys and teens with cars, animals, and other applique motifs.

Please feel free to bring a portable sewing machine from home if you have one. We will be doing 2 primary things during the event.

1. Hand-sewing some of the blankets that have already been cut and sewn at 4 inch intervals so the blankets will hold up to repeated washing. This is important for parents and hospitals who have sick children, the blankets need regular care.
2. Taking fabric that has been pre-cut and making it into blocks that we can sew together into children's blankets. Given the huge need for boy's blankets, I will be trying to focus on things like xbox controllers, popular sports, videogames, travel, etc.

A warm thanks in advance to everyone who participates. We are accepting extra fabric/yarn or batting donations for anyone who would like bring their extra stashes from home.

Check out the local chapter website here: http://projectlinusraleigh.blogspot.com/

New Year, New Fun

Welcome back from the holidays, we are happy to be starting a new year. We will be continuing our textile Fridays and working to start a Acorn to Oak Handmade Posts on Mondays to invite you to come to the upcoming event on the following Tuesday nights. This hopefully will give everyone time to make plans, blog, and invite friends. In addition, we will be finishing up our 30 days of design for the winter and starting on spring. I hope that you will enjoy the concepts before you and look forward to seeing where everything leads.

Day Sixteen: Acorn to Oak Holiday Craft Show

We're back from the show this past week and wanted to show you this fun video Melsie Glass took of the Acorn to Oak Handmade Etsy Team Craft Show. I'm going to start shortening Etsy Team Craft to ETC for laughs. We loved everyone who came out and made us laugh and can't wait for the next one in the spring right before Mother's Day.

It was so much fun to have you.

I can't believe we're at 670 members for the year. We have grown so much. We started with just 16 good friends at the beginning. Glad to have met each and every one of you and so looking forward to seeing what the new year brings.