..on thinking about the holidays....

..The holidays are just around the corner..the stores are already decking the halls, and we will have to once again suffer through two months of holiday music.  Actually my favorite in recent years was a CD that a friend sent of Bob Dylan's Christmas music.

In my business I am gearing up for a holiday trunk show in early December hoping that all the women who attend will fall head over heels for my offerings and snatch up every last item on the rack. That would make me very happy and with hope, them very happy.  In these days of ratings, and reviews, it is always good to get good feedback, directly or not.  I recently asked for that kind of feedback because I am getting a press package ready so I can reach out to a wider audience. Promote myself, garner attention, reveal my best qualities and in essence offer to the world what I see as my gift in this life.  

So I suppose that the holidays for me are a mixed bag. On one hand it is a time to do a lot of business, which means being very busy. On the other it is a time for reflection on one's year, and looking toward the new one to come...and finally it is time to be grateful for the gift of living the life of one's choosing.  

Here's to the holidays!

...clothing as art

...today I was reading an old magazine article I had saved written about Maria Cornejo who is the designer behind the label Zero + Maria Cornego.  She has been designing clothing for a pretty long time. She started out in New York with a  tiny studio/store that was purely concept driven, creating unique but wearable clothing that stood outside the norm...she has moved on to open many stores and is well-known and respected in the design world. I love her clothing. 

We have this body and how we dress it can be so revealing about who we are. It is always a bit of a struggle not wanting to 'present', and yet 'reveal' at the same time,  who we are through what we choose to put on our bodies. It really is just as easy to put something interesting on as not. What prevents people from being interesting?  What is interesting? It is all a matter of perspective...

Clothing design has often been referred to as a craft. I don't know about you, but when I look at what comes out of couture houses around the world, that to me is not craft but true artistic expression, and it's continuous, and on schedule. It is also a collaboration of dozens of people putting countless hours into creating those garments.  Works of art. 

So the question remains; clothing = clothing or clothing = art... 

...btw...watch for one of my dresses in the Marketplace section in the Sunday Seattle Times - October 13, 20013...

stay tuned...

.....what does it mean to be feminine?

...I would love to know what you think... please leave a response.  thank you, Mia

...it's like bike riding

Many years ago, I spent a lot of time on my bike. I was training for the first Ride The Rockies bike tour and I was lucky enough to be one of the 1000 to do this 350 mile ride across Colorado....six passes (12 to 14k ft high) in seven days, day one 100 miles...whew, that was a lot of riding and there was a lot of training involved, three months everyday, a pass a weekend for at least a month. Needless to say, I was in good shape..the best of my life!  

How does this relate to today? Last week I had a small trunk show/fashion show hosted by a friend of mine. She was gracious enough to clean out her large living room, set up enough chairs to allow 30+ guests to sit and watch my 20 minute show.  It was great! The clothes looked really good, the models were beautiful, the audience appreciative and the music interesting and appropriate. All in all, a job well done by all.....and it was like bike riding up all those passes.  Everyday for the past three months I have been climbing up a pass only to go to bed, and wake up to another pass to climb.  Once you get to the top of the pass it is so fabulous to fly down the other side, totally forgetting what you just had to do to get up to the top....doesn't matter the downhill is so fun!  

So I reached that goal only to be faced with yet another pass to climb...keeping the momentum up, reaching those clients, cultivating new contacts, designing more clothing, developing developing and more developing.  It really never ends, and that is the good news......

Stay tuned...

...on perserverance

I found this quote today and thought I would share it because I think it pretty much sums up the process of creating something from a seed thought.  Nurturing that seed until it becomes a full grown plant....then that mature plant creating its own seeds and watching how those seeds scatter to become something even more significant.

As the 'fruits' of my labor begin to manifest it is encouraging to look back at the seed thought and realize how far along that thought has come.  I was walking around San Francisco last week and observing all the people at their lunch breaks.  So many hundreds of people in this one city on the planet, all out and about; walking, eating, talking, meeting, wandering.  It was a moment when I connected with the seed thoughts that had to happen in order for that to happen...for all those people to have jobs, careers, etc...

I have a very small company, if one can even call it that at this time, which is basically me.  I have a fabulous seamstress who lives seven blocks away who enthusiastically sews for me and has helped figure out the best way to do things in the kindest, least judgement way, her name is Zen. Then I have Karen who had her own design label years ago and is someone who I really respect. I respect her experience, and knowledge and her eye...she is making my patterns, and has begun spending a little time here cutting so I can get other things done.  And finally I have my daughters, Julia and Wysdom who quickly will let me know if I am on the right track and lend their youthful opinions to my sometimes 'older' ideas of things....thank god for them.

So I suppose this is the seed which is now sprouting...just peeking its tiny little head above ground, checking things out and seeing if the conditions are ready to continue its upwards growth.....so far so good.

 "This may sound too simple, but is great in consequence. Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concering all acts of initiative (and creating), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and spendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, the providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising ones's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way." I learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets: "Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic it it"

...Everyday fashion

When I walk around and observe people and their fashion...I have to ask the question, "How does it (fashion) translate to the everyday?" In this apartment building there are 30 studios with diversity that equals that number at the very least....so in this mini microcosm, how is 'fashion' interpreted in the way each person dresses everyday?  On Saturday at the Berkeley Flea Market, I asked the same question...going to the Berkeley Bowl to shop yesterday was yet another opportunity to observe, or Bay Street Mall, at the massive Ikea, all opportunities to observe. Compared to what is shown in our fashion magazines, how does what we see trickle down to the street level, if it ever really does?  

Even though we troll the latest and greatest, what I see doesn't really translate, at least directly. I suppose that is what 'street' fashion is all about. What is presented by designers is sort of this idea plucked out of the collective unconscious.  A wave of ideas that float around, and if one is paying attention can pull it out of that wave. That is why I think when the collections are presented they tend to have a similar trend. I don't think designers are copying each other, I think it is actually how ideas circulate.  

So on the street, I see it as a mix of old, new, sleek, rough...and everything in between.. I find it fascinating, interesting, and just one way of viewing the continuing commentary on society.

...Wysdom moves out

Today is the last day for a while that my youngest daughter Wysdom will be living at home. She is moving to San Francisco to continue her studies at the Academy of Art University in Fashion Design.  Her absence will be missed dearly, and we are all cheering her on to take this big step out... 

When Wysdom was little nothing gave her more pleasure than to dress up in very fancy clothes, the fancier the better and stay in those all day. She loved dressy dresses as everyday wear and especially if they made a huge circle as she twirled, because she was a dancer from the time she could stand, and maybe from before that.  

These days she isn't so much into twirling around in taffeta or silk, but she is very good at designing and lending her voice of reason to my sometimes unreasonable approach..after all, she is the one getting the formal training in this business, I took a somewhat back door approach, which I have done with most things in my life.   I am going to miss that voice and I am excited to hear how that voice changes as she moves on from the confines and safety of home. 

Bon Voyage Wysdom.... 

Seattle Magazine - Seamless in Seattle 2013 Best Emerging Designer....

I have known about this for a couple of months, and it was hard to keep it a secret... but now that the magazine is out on the stands I can let it out!  Please go out and pick up a copy of the September issue of Seattle Magazine where you will see that  I won the best emerging designer for this year's competition! 

You can also find my clothing at Juniper, Momo and Clementines in Seattle. I will post the article as soon as it is available.

...thoughts....again

I found this on a magazine site I follow; Parabola.  It is ringing truer and truer for me now ...more than ever in my life, I am connected to my thoughts..

H.H. The Dalai Lama from sapru on flickr.(*)

The thought manifests as the word;
The word manifests as the deed;
The deed develops into habit;
And habit hardens into character.
So watch the thought and its ways
with care,
And let it spring from love
Born out of concern for all beings.
As the shadow follows the body,
As we think, so we become.

—Guatama Buddha, Dhammapada

voices...which one...

...sometimes I think I am suppose to write in my blog only about fashion, design or something surrounding the subject since I am creating clothing and I am interested in fashion. I find lately, that I am fascinated by what goes on in my head, and what voice do we listen to when making decisions.  We all have many voices and the trick is to listen to the one that makes the most sense at any given time. I find myself lately in a wrestling match with the voices of can you do this... ugh this is too hard, give up...what do you think you're doing....who wants this stuff anyway...why do we need another dress in the world....things like that. Fill in the blank and it can be about anything really.  What I think is the message here for me is to take a look at that, put it away, turn on the other voice of positivity, abundance, follow through, possibility and reason. If we do what we agree to do, usually the outcome is just about what we expect it to be given the amount of effort, and time we devote to any project.  Whether it is finishing that dress that is sitting on my table, or seeking out the financial backing I really need to go forward.....get out of my head and into action, leave the voice of the negative behind, and boldly walk forward with the voice of possibility squarely on my shoulder....

....what I see walking down the sidewalks

I just returned from a quick trip to San Francisco/Oakland.

Seattle is a place where people mostly dress according to what is going on with the weather, and in doing so tend to dress for function rather than fashion...understandable. My father's famous words continue to ring true for me, "form follows function."  So for me it is really important that the form is functional but also beautiful and/or interesting.

As we walked and drove the streets of San Francisco/Oakland/Berkeley, I found that the same is true for those cities as well.  The fashion sense was really not very different from what I see in Seattle. Perhaps there are pockets of more stylish people, the ones that follow trends or put themselves together in a little more together way, but that is also true for Seattle. There will always be those who are more fashion conscious, and those who are more into the functionality of what they put on in the morning.  

I think it is interesting to see how fashion trends migrate and change according to the needs of a particular population.  I follow several fashion blogs, and recently one of the blogs has been showing the common folk of Burma, and  Southeast Asia.  They would most likely be considered poor by our standards..yet what I find interesting is this blogger portrays them as somehow cool in the way they are wearing their clothing, and I get it. However I am not sure how I feel about how he is doing this. Is he trying to say, 'hey look at these people, aren't they beautiful no matter their circumstances', or if he is trying to start some sort of 'trend' by portraying them as the next great thing, even though these people are dressing like this not out of choice necessarily, but because it is all they have.  They probably don't have a closet full of choices or a cute vintage shop down the street that they can fill in their look. What you see is what you get...this is true for most of the world.   

I suppose that this idea of form and function is how we all live.  It doesn't matter if you are living the life, or simply living a life.  If your world requires four inch heels, or no shoes, designer dresses everyday, or whatever is clean....it really doesn't matter.... 

...model search

I am in search of women who would be willing to be photographed in my clothing.  I would like to have a broad range of self-confident, happy-in-your-skin type women who are not worried about wrinkles, and being perfect, whatever that means. 

Women in their 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, and up are welcome to contact me.  I have some photo shoots planned for the end of August and then again in September. 

Please feel free to contact me, and if not you, perhaps a friend or acquaintance?

Although I would love to be able to compensate you with money, I cannot..however I do like to give my simple dresses to help sweeten the pot... 

Julia's 23rd Birthday....

Tomorrow is my daughter Julia's birthday...when Julia was little, I had a studio in our studio above the health food store that her father and I operated. I was making clothing for a store in Seattle and doing this and that...not taking anything very seriously..I was a new mother and my hands were full. 

Then we moved from that studio into a house and I had another studio but it was in the basement.  Julia and I spent a lot of time down in that basement and she sat on my lap while I sewed. She never ever put her fingers near the needle and was content to watch.  When I think of those days I am always amazed at her tolerance of me and my need to keep sewing....she grew up with the sound of the sewing machine, and fabric all over the place.  

She is now grown up and ready to embark on her own great adventure. Watch for her first solo art show coming up in August. The opening date is August 1st at the 'Station' on Beacon Hill.  Probably one of the best cafes in Seattle....

Come by and see her work, it is remarkable...

...offerings number one

I would like to invite you to view my offerings page. There you will find a new concept in shopping... 

take a look and let me know what you think.. 

ciao, 

mia

...on how we look

 ...it has occurred to me lately that in order to get anything noticed, one has to become  more and more creative.  Sometimes that really is hard...however in some ways that is exactly what is needed.  I see a lot of people who appear to be content with mediocrity.  Then there are encounters that make me rethink that whole concept...... I know a man who might be considered to be very eccentric.  One day I said to him that he is only dressing like that to be noticed, and he said in reply, "If that was my goal then I would study the latest fashions and dress that way, then I would be noticed."  I think that is a very thought provoking statement on many levels.  Is it about ego, art, being ourselves....that we dress a certain way...

When I was a teacher every now and then someone in the school would get head lice.  Not a big deal, kids get it really easily.  The problem with lice is that is spreads quickly, especially in schools.  So when this happened the kids wore headscarves to protect themselves until the problem was solved. I had one young girl who hated wearing scarves and in trying to get her to wear it I said it wasn't a big deal, better than contracting lice and hey, you will look like everyone else.  She said in reply, "The whole point is to NOT look like everyone else."  

Two very different people at complete opposite ends of the spectrum both in age, gender, lifestyle, and points of view yet such compelling and interesting statements regarding.... how we look...

...manifestation

The other day I was taking a walk and started to think about how things manifest.  We all know the old saying....you have to think things to fruition, or something like that.  One year ago I was completing my teaching career of 10 years, recovering from a very exhausting work and trying to figure out next steps. I stalled out...to put it nicely. I couldn't find my direction, felt I had nothing to say and everything I tried seemed tired and without life. I just stayed in that place and spent my days with my daughters, friends, having dinners on the deck and thinking a lot..Thinking about how I wanted things to be. How was I going to get there, what did I have to learn, who did I have to connect with.

My answers were pretty clear; first I had to connect with myself, calm down, and just keep moving forward.  I had lost myself in the lives and dreams of other people for so long that I had no idea who I was/am.  It took me six months to regain a sense of self and then I could begin to figure out my 'vision', who my 'audience' is and all the other things that happen when one finally can cut through all the veils...others ideas of who we are and to be able to see clearly.  

So this is where I stand today. I have manifested a lot over the past 12 months and I am really excited to share with you all the news of what all that dreaming, visualizing and doing has created. So I think it is true... we have to think it up, keep taking one step forward everyday, and then be able to look back and say...yes...I have gotten somewhere and moved further along my path..

Inspiration...

Where does it come from? How do we tap into it?  What do we do with it?   

Those are my burning questions these days.  Yesterday I had to take a quick trip to Whidbey Island, WA.  Whidbey could be considered one of the great beauties of the Pacific Northwest. When I was riding on the ferry, the shapes of the pilings inspired me with their huge, hulking structures, and at the same time furnishing a nice perch for the seagulls.  Then it was the glistening water, blue as could be just there for our pleasure and finally the landscape of Whidbey... my favorite being  fields of tall grass bending with the wind, in the softest shades of green.  I suppose all these "elements" influence us on a deep level and then inform our decisions when it comes to manifesting some creation, no matter what it is.

It is all in the process....

Completion...

​I think that completing is one of the more important things we do in our lives.  Whether it is an assignment in school, an artistic project, a paper or whatever, it is such a great feeling when we complete whatever it is we are trying to accomplish.  That is why this 'project' that I am embarking on is so important for me to complete.  It is isn't just all the minute details of starting a business which, oh wow, there are many. It is that I started this when I was eight years old.  That was a long time ago. It feels so good to finally be at a place in my life that I can finally feel complete with this process. Yet at the same time every time I begin a new garment it feels like I am starting all over again with another project to complete....

street...

A Sunday at Fremont and Ballard with the girls...

Julia is the blue tiny strip shop dress and ​Wysdom in the black basic with wrap utility skirt.

our beginning

For most of my life I have striven to be self sustaining, mostly in business for myself.  Even when I worked for someone else, I was still in business for myself.  This past year I have been on a much deserved and much loved sabbatical to explore, travel, discover, think and make some major life changes. What I thought would be a quick transition actually took nearly nine months to finally feel settled and ready to start fresh.  That was a long, frustrating nine months because I felt like I was just treading water and could barely keep my head above on most days.  It took a trip to Mexico, traveling through huge cities, small towns, meeting a myriad of characters and after all the busy, ending at  the beach, having the space to answer all the unanswerable questions with a feeling of being ready to begin.  So here I am, and it isn't just me this time. I my doing this with daughters interest too.  We are pulling it all in under one heading, yet making sure that each of our voices will be heard and our ideas and inspirations realized.....​