ideas - inspiration - stuff

Friday, June 13, 2014

the design library

ever wonder where marc jacobs, miucca prada, or the creative team for old navy go when they need a jolt of inspiration? they go to the design library, one of the best kept secrets in the creative world. the design library is located in wappingers falls and, while it may sound like you need to take the hogwarts express to get there, it's really only an hour and a half from the city on metro north, in the gorgeous hudson valley. what will you find there: the world's largest and best organized collections of documentary fabrics, original artwork, wallpapers, embroideries, yarn dyes, numbering over 7 million designs (!). the collections date from the 1750s to the late 20th century and are sorted into 900 categories. the design library regularly acquires entire archives from designers and fabric houses, ensuring these invaluable collections stay together and are available for perusal. because that is the business of the library: the sale and licensing of antique, vintage, modern and contemporary textile designs for inspiration to the fashion, home furnishings, textile, wall covering, graphic arts, and paper product industries. in a nutshell, this place is textile heaven, nirvana for the fabric-obsessed and awe-inspiring.






Saturday, June 7, 2014

country living fair

yesterday i went to the country living fair in rhinebeck, new york. while not exactly your typical flea market - and certainly not priced like one - it's an amazing place to find one-of-a-kind gifts and home accessories, meet like-minded crafters and recharge your creative batteries. the rhinebeck show ends on sunday, june 8 at 5pm.






Tuesday, June 3, 2014

shoe clips made with t-shirt yarn

dainty and ladylike, shoe clips are a fun but somewhat old-fashioned accessory that needs to be taken our of the bridal realm, and back to the forefront of fashion. the shoe clips below are a witty take on preppy tasseled loafers.



STEPS:
1. per clip: cut four 6” long pieces of t-shirt yarn.
2. fold this bundle of yarns over and tie together with another piece of t-shirt yarn, using a double knot. cut off the ends.
3. thread a hex nut onto each tassel end and make a knot underneath.
4. hand sew the shoe clip to the back of each tassel. done!

after making the tassels, I decided to try my hand at t-shirt yarn bows: cut twelve 3” long pieces of yarn and tie this bundle in the center together with a 10” length of T-shirt yarn, then wrap it over six times, and finally tuck under the end. hand sew the shoe clip to the back of the bow.