clockwise from top:
- woven straw sun hat and 30s/70s cocktail hat
- Vera silk scarf in pink and sunflower yellow
- chalkware lady and rice blotting paper (not thrifted!)
- crazy woven bead hanging! I am definitely turning it into some kind of jacket/epaulet rig
- intarsia knit patch from the host of the pig roast, who has a huuuge knitting machine and makes blankets/ski hats
- eel pocketbook, python snap wallet, woven earrings, wood earrings, knot earrings
- gray leather Victorian-style shortie cowgirl boots
- brown suede OTK flat boots
- cream tasseled cowgirl boots
- hand-embroidered tablecloth
- vintage wooden and quilted hangers – an obsession
- dark floral new dress with sheer net top, broken zipper
- bill blass gold seahorse swimsuit
- German cuckoo clock! every time I put down my carryon in the airport, a faint “cuckoo” would sound…
- framed gold picture of a Venice boatyard (<3)
- four tiny paintings of scary men
- red dancing t-straps
- tiny wooden owl (I left behind four or five other types of owls! I am running out of shelf space so I have to be very picky).

whew!

most of this was gleaned in two days of thrifting in only three or four stores. courtesy of my little sister for chauffeuring me around very patiently.

thanks be to the ephemera gods for keeping me shod and fancy for under $100.

my friend Laura moved away this week! I wanted to make this for her going away party but got waylaid by other dramas that day, and just got around to realizing the vision (in front of some back episodes of True Blood) today. I will have to save it until she comes back to visit…

Here she is in her headdress (that she made) inspired by our time in New Orleans this February and the Mardi Gras Indians tradition. I met Laura only a year ago, when she biked up to the dumpster pools wearing high heels and I immediately thought we would get along, and she has inspired me so much in that short time. Laura is an accomplished seamstress who has been sewing since childhood, and every time I go over to her house, there is some kind of new fabulous costume hanging up — a light-up pink satin Christmas tree rig for example. She also sewed the vintage-style onesies we used as the base for our Mermaid Parade costumes this year:
She’s moving to Oakland and Brooklyn will miss her a lot! Especially me, since I could wear whatever crazy thing I wanted out, and feel confident that Laura would always take the heat off me since she would be wearing something more neon and more fringed…

On an unrelated note – I am clearing out some of my vintage collection! deals on ebay on designer boots and some other wild stuff.

I finally biked down to Bottle Beach after years of hearing rumors of it. It was an old city landfill up until the 1930s, and now the tide is uncovering thousands of glass bottles, old shoes and other trinkets.

Among my finds – a metal makeup compact with a broken mirror inside, a part of a (toy?) gun handle, several beautiful bottles – most have the rims chipped but some are intact, and some tiny perfume bottles with the original stoppers and pumps in. I also found some old handbags or handbag parts, and a vinyl wallet from the 60′s with flowers imprinted on it.

I heard a story recently about a friend of a friend who found a real Victorian ruby ring there, and proposed to her girlfriend with it…

It’s a dream for lovers of old things, despite the smell…I had to be dragged away long after carrying capacity was reached, I kept seeing treasure.

In other news – I moved my studio back into my little railroad apartment in Brooklyn. I had to admit to myself that I work better with distractions (!) and it comforts my hoarding heart to have all my scraps and ribbons close to hand at all times. I basically sleep in a nest of zippers, thread and vintage clothes now, and wouldn’t have it any other way.

I have more or less quit taking wholesale orders (cannot compete with factories in China!) and instead these days I am making things that are all different, all special and irreplaceable. And will be listing some vintage treasures…

Shorpy is making me very happy today. It’s a gray and rainy June afternoon in New York City and I am hoping to use my neglected Film Forum membership to go see the restored Breathless tonight…or maybe a faux-doc about Hitchcock (always, always my favorite…)

This particular photo reminds me both of Carson McCullers’ The Member of the Wedding, which I read this February, and of the heavy heat, dusty roads and dark corners of the South where I grew up. Peaches, peanuts, cicadas chirping. Kudzu and sunshine.

Coral & Tusk!

Also spotted there -
- lots of woodgrain (I have a woodgrain project up my sleeve as well)
- Southwestern print (not my fave, I prefer African prints)
- the ubiquitous cartoon owls, dinosaurs, whales and octopi.

I am still too exhausted to really reflect on the 1/4th of the fair I got to see- we spent the entire time battling the high winds (there was a tornado watch!) I have to say that we were really disappointed to have to struggle so much with the elements- we closed down at 1pm Sunday when our tent broke due to the weather. Given the high costs of participating in a fair like that, it really makes me reconsider investing the time and effort in outdoor fairs. I do hope a few new folks got to see the work I’ve been doing lately and take home some new treasured pieces (the mini-boat sold to a very excited flapper!) Otherwise I will try to get better about my photo documentation. And I have some new sewing projects to premiere soon…

can you believe these guys came out of a dumpster?! they are thriving on my postage-stamp size patio.

I recently moved my studio back into my house after almost a year. I’m not really ready to delve too deep into my psychology but for some reason I found it really hard to get going to commute over there (an easy 10-minute bike ride) or to keep track of what tools and materials I had at home vs. there.

Today is my first day unpacking and working at home and I’ve already patterned out some new stuff from scratch! Though I may have to set up my sewing machine on the floor – I don’t care. I think it helps to have friendly cats sitting on everything, and snacks easily at hand.

Last weekend we went to the tiny float parade to kick off the Great Small Works festival at St. Ann’s in DUMBO – it’s going on for a couple more weeks!

These are two of my very favorites – the rollerskate-chicken and the rather forlorn mini-tree.

I was also lucky to grab a shot of a dress I love – with the 80s leotard/asymmetrical hem and skinny headband. This spring/summer I am kind of into sport-casual which if you know me, is a departure! always evolving…

Speaking of – I picked up a pair of Toms shoes the other day (at the resale shop – a lucky find) in copper glitter. I like how minimalist they are, especially after I seam-ripped off the tags (there are a lot of visible tags on not that much shoe!)

My one quibble is that they get extremely hot and we have tropical summer coming on – so I’ll be hacking some vents into them with the fabric scissors soon, hopefully in an aesthetically pleasing manner that also does not cause them to spontaneously deconstruct.

Also – right now my hard-working neighbors over at Love Brigade are having a huge online sale…great innovative basics, party dresses, post-goth jeans, etc.

Today we decorate for Camille’s wedding! Very excited to make a small foray into handmade rustic wedding pieces.

Also — new one-of-a-kind pieces for spring to debut very soon!

Join me and Uzi NYC at:
the Bust Spring Craftacular – Sunday May 23rd at Warsaw, Greenpoint Brooklyn

and

the Renegade Fair – Saturday & Sunday June 5th & 6th, McCarren Park, Brooklyn.