Creative Leather Accessories

Another class that I took at LCOF was Creative Leather Accessories. We had two projects during this class, both involving bags.

The first project we had was a pouch. We were given patterns for this, then had to make the pouch our own. I finished my pouch by adding a small handle on the top and a gold closure on the flap.

Our other project was to design our own bag. The only rules were that it had to be kept simple and clean. I decided that I wanted to make a bag to keep my portfolio in. That way on interviews they see the bag I made in real life. 

FRONT

BACK

This class has showed me that I have interest in a career in accessories. I enjoyed the sketching and seeing the design come to life. Can't wait to use it!

I'm a cobbler

I have officially finished my shoe from my shoe-making class. Glad to say that I've cobbled! The class was really intense and long, but I'm glad I took it. I can now start an accessories portfolio, along with the leather bag that I'm finishing shortly.

Here are some picture of my shoe in process:

The first step is to tape the last (the yellow thing) and make your patterns. 

Here is a picture of my upper fabric in pieces. It's the 3/4 and 1/4 pattern pieces. This then gets sewn/glued to the lining and is stretched and nailed onto the last. 

Here the lasted shoe. The heel is completely lasted and the lining is lasted down. 

Here is a picture of the same step as above.

Here is the shoe with the attached sole and heel. 

The last step in making the shoe was to add my design piece. I made a fortune teller out of leather to go on the back of the heel. Here is the finished shoe below. 

That was the production of my shoe-making class. There are a billion more pictures, but no need to bore! Look out soon for a post about my bag that I've finished and pictures from my styling project. 

Traveling Around Europe

For the past few weeks I've gotten a break from school. We got a 2 1/2 week holiday and I spent mine traveling around Europe. Part of the time was spent specifically studying fashion and some was just for fun!

The first place I went was Dublin, Ireland in order to visit some friends from my summer internship. My favorite part of the trip was going to The Leprechaun Museum. I highly recommend going to this museum. They have a giant's room where you can climb around on huge furniture.

The next place I went was Paris, France on a trip with the school. This was extremely fun and fashion-filled. My personal highlight was getting to visit my favorite designer store Manoush. This is a company that I strive to work at. And, if I wasn't terribly poor, perhaps I would have bought something. 

I also spent some time seeing typical Paris tourist spots. Hark, the Arc de Triomphe!

After spending some time in Paris I headed back to England. Spent a bit of time in Northern England and did some London adventuring. I almost met the muffin man... at least I met someone who knew him. 

Finally I finished my time with a trip to see family in Italy. I had a wonderful time in Italy, seeing Assisi, going to Eurochocolate (a festival purely for chocolate), and truffle hunting. We found a lot of truffles, and by that I mean our amazing dog found them and we quickly took credit for it. 

I also spent some time in Florence seeing beautiful architecture. Nothing like a day trip!

That was the end of my adventures. Although, I did just go back to Dublin for Halloween. Oddly enough the British don't really celebrate Halloween as much as we do in the States. 

Look for an update soon about what I've been making in classes! I only have a month left here. Can't believe time has gone by so quickly!

London, My New Best Friend

Hey everybody!

Let me start out by introducing myself. I am a senior at ISU getting a double degree in Apparel Creative Design and Performing Arts Dance. My main focus for Performing Arts is in costuming, combining both of my degrees.

Now, on to my internship...

My internship is a combination of a fashion internship that I completed over the summer and studying abroad at London College of Fashion this Fall semester. For this entry I'll focus on my summer internship.

My fashion internship was with Derek Lawlor in London, England working on his SS13 collection. I worked from the beginning of June until London Fashion Week in September where he showed the collection. I spent my summer doing various tasks including: pattern making, alterations, re-construction, sewing, draping, market research, cord-work, and knitting. It was great working for Derek as he's a young designer and truly wants his interns to learn about the industry. He was great at helping us understand what was needed to make a fashion business work and get the end result.

Speaking of the end result, here are a few pictures of the SS13 collection:

Saying Goodbye

It was a wonderful summer at ComedySportz. I finished my improv class with a show which went smashingly!
I really learned about interacting with people on a one-on-one basis. I honed my comedic skills and took home valuable improv experience which is sure to help me this year!
Most importantly, CSz made me feel like I was part of a family, everyone reaching towards the same goal: to make people laugh.
I am so very grateful for my time there this summer, and I cannot wait to go back.

For the last time my friends:
Over and out!

-D

And the Journey Comes to an End

Little Mermaid did great I have never been so proud in my whole life.  those kids got to do some many professional things that I can not believe how lucky they are.  I learned so much about teaching and even learned things about myself.

Final Blog of Summer 2012

Now that I have some time to breathe, I will throw up my final post from Logan, WV and The Aracoma Story, Inc. 3 months ago, I drove 850 miles to Logan to work on 3 shows. The first show dealt with the story of Johnny Cash. It sharpened my carpenter skills with using tools like an old table saw that can only cut lumber under a foot and a very very old chop saw. Then, we moved onto the show the company was named after. The show tested our problem solving abilities. It was very similar to the Christmas Carol puzzle, but instead of just the platforms, we had to also piece together the foam pieces of the mountains. It also opened up the world of pyrotechnics. I learned how to load up 5 ft flash strip and safely fire it from back stage. Then we finished up with Winnie the Pooh. This was the show we could flex our creative muscles by creating 6 'houses'. With the aid of our Stage Manager/Head Scenic Designer, we brought the world of Pooh to life with 4 2D 'houses', details and 2 full 'houses'. I also have learned how to successfully run a spotlight for the first and last show. I have 3 days left, all of which will strike and clean up, before I make the 850 miles trek one more time. I would gladly come back next year if I can't find anything after I graduate. So for the last time, good bye from Logan and hello home!