Evidentally, I Am The Wolf

 A dear friend of mine is calling me "The Wolf."

I just thought this was the funniest thing, but then when I thought about it, its kind of true.

 In Pulp Fiction, The Wolf is played by Harvey Keitel. In this small part, he  is the gruff older dude who was consulted to solve the problems.......because he was experienced and knew how to get stuff cleaned up....and he was impatient with the guys who didn't know how to clean up their messes.  And now I'm starting to call myself that too. Because its funny. And kind of true at times.

 I cant tell you how often over the years that I have been sent projects that costumers don't want to work on or they found themselves in a bind, and my help was called for. There is a certain amount of trust needed there, and I was usually happy to help out until I realized that they needed to learn this stuff on their own. This is how we learn.  And you don't learn this stuff overnight. Every project is going to bring a new set of challenges if you have not done that particular project several times before. Much of costuming is about problem solving. And we learn from our mistakes and experiences, both good and bad.. So I generally prefer to get my own clients and do my own thing these days unless I'm getting paid to teach and to consult.

Kendra Katz brought this teal, slinky fabric to me because she wanted a draped skirt to take to Russia on her current world tour with Mira Betz.. It was a rush job and had to be a group effort at that point, so having had plenty of experience with slinky fabrics, I knew what to do. And it made sense to send it to me. Nobody wanted to touch it, there wasn't time to problem solve and learn about it, and Ive worked with slinkys a lot.

 I worked with Kendra on some sketches and draped this lingerie fabric on my dress form until we got the look fairly correct. I basted and pinned and copied the design out onto paper. I cut the fabric out and re-draped it on the dress form. And then of course, when it was sewn up and tried on, it wasn't quite right because she actually has curves like a real woman - unlike the dress form, so we had to tweak it a bit to make it do what she wanted it to do on her body. But with a little work, it was a fun project and looked awesome on her, as you can see in the photos. They came to The Wolf (LOL) and that was the right decision. It all turned out real pretty on this lovely lady!

.Belt by Medina Maitreya, bra base by Dusty Paik, bra embellishments by Medina Maitreya and Marci Ann. I had the medallion for part of the belt closure - it was a great collaborative effort................there are a lot of really excellent costumers here in the San Francisco Bay Area!

Happy New Year!

I was very happy to see 2013 go away. It ended with a fast recovery from a long overdue foot surgery. And while I was super stoked to get this done, it also set me back. Being a self employed maker person, I always fall through the cracks for any kind of aid................so I got through it with the help of friends and family. I don't know how I could have pulled this off otherwise. 

And since I really had no time to be off my feet or luxuriate in self nurturing, I babied myself at first when I had no choice but to do so, and then went to work to push myself as much as humanly possible every single day. Doctor Chan was happy with the results of his surgery and was very please at my rate of recovery. He said it was above normal. Whew. So once I was on the mend, I had to work. And the race has been on ever since. I still have to put my feet up now and then, but I'm getting stuff done. And I have renewed energy and drive.

Ive got two wedding dresses in the works, some costuming, and mockups for a line of clothing that I am collaborating on with Carolena Nericcio of FatChanceBellyDance, Inc... Patterning  is not my passion, but Ive got to do it myself right now. Its slow going, but every day I do something - anything with the patterns. Its all coming along. This is the Bessie skirt. More info and great photos will be coming soon. Its a good product. A good design. A good project. This is not the best picture, but they are amazing on a real body. This waist part can be folded over and it is both versatile and flattering. They are being sold at the FatChanceBellyDance studio - you can call the studio and order, or go in and try one on - you wont be sorry! (call first, though!) 415-431-4322. fcbd@fcbd.com

I'm also doing some experimenting with a fellow designer here in town. We're playing around with the refurbishing of hoodies. Not a new concept. But a fun one. We'll soon see what we can come up with and if its even worth our time. But if nothing else, Im getting some new ideas...............and we'll each have a new hoodie!

There are other things like this going on. You never know what project is going to be a hit or a miss. But it hones the skills and keeps me on my toes. Already I am far busier than I was at this time last year. It looks like we are all working on climbing up out of that rabbit hole  - very Alice In Wonderland like.

But you know............the phoenix thing.............we cant be stopped.