Spring fabrics

Hard to think about next spring when we are soon to head into fall, but the new fabrics I picked out for my Spring 2012 collection arrived this week, and man are they stunning! So soft and airy, they feel totally luxurious on your skin. I made up a Sugar Mountain dress in the hot pink and orange houndstooth print voile yesterday:

 

Found

I was unpacking the last three boxes from the move (I know, I know, it’s been five months already!) and found this toy, which belonged to my sister and I back in the day. It’s made from heavy card, and comes with a bunch of circus animals which you can attach to each stage. The stages have a weight in the back, so the animals can swing back and forth.

Also from this weekend, freehand machine embroidery on a custom Aegean blouse, and a housewarming gift from a friend:

Bill Hammond

Bill Hammond: Jingle Jangle Morning

A post on Facebook by one of my New Zealand friends reminded me about the work of Bill Hammond. I saw a show of his paintings the last time I was in Christchurch and loved the mysterious and slightly sinister world he conjures. His palettes have an underwater spookiness, and though painted, the images look (deliberately I’m sure) like tapestries.

Bill Hammond: Wishbone Ash Stash

Shopping spree

Well, not really a spree. We’re on a pretty tight budget around here lately, but I had a couple of sales over the weekend, and just couldn’t resist this tee-shirt anymore:

The whiskers!!! I think I must have a soft spot for bunnies (I had a black rabbit named Buffalo growing up), because this little guy is on my wish list:

Love the jaunty look on his face, and his gold booty!

Inspirations

Years ago, when Ursula and I were in New York selling a modaspia collection, we walked into a teeny space in the lower east side; the retail store of Zero, designed by Maria Cornejo. Ursula was a fan, and we spent a few minutes looking at the interesting silhouettes and gorgeous fabrics. When Ursula mentioned her line again in a recent blog post, I looked up Maria’s website, and was completely blown away.  She’s definitely the expert in how to do the peplum skirt I’ve been playing around with lately. And the fabrics….drool!

Happy Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday!

Both stores are open again, with the summer favorites available in new fabrics, and great fall pieces like the Ellipse skirt restocked.

Another piece of news: because I sell directly to my customers I am able to keep my prices a little lower than standard retail. But I recently realized that in order to keep Judah Ross growing, I will need to sell my work to stores as well. It was a hard decision to make, but I will be raising some of my prices in September. I will continue to offer a few special pieces just for my online shops.

So to say a big fat “thank you!!” to all of you who support (and I hope will continue to support) my retail business, I am offering 15% off all ready to ship items in my shop.

Just enter the code HAPPYWEDNESDAY when checking out.

The sale does not apply to made to order items, and will end August 15th. So get crackin’!!

Saturday Eats

We had plans with new friends for snacks and a few drinks Saturday night, so I headed to the farmers market.

I love shopping there in summer, when the abundance is such that you can almost hear the tables groaning with the weight of produce.

I found some beautiful yellow wax beans, and decided to make a quick pickle with them.

Other items on the menu: great cheese with green summer apples & black olives, hummus with cilantro and jalapenos from Trader Joe’s (I’m addicted to it), fresh cherries and melon.

Listening to

Sometimes shuffle is the best. I had forgotten how much I love this song:

Life with Stella

Stella and our new foster dog Dakota like each other.

He’s so petite he makes our tiny Stella look beefy.

Popping up

Saturday morning I spotted this huge beauty outside our back door:

By 5:30 in the afternoon it was gone, and realizing that Stella had probably eaten it I rushed inside and after some googling tentatively identified it as Caesar’s Amanita (Amanita caesarea), which is apparently edible. It looks pretty similar to a family of mushrooms that is toxic though, so I held my breath for the 10 hour window before the toxin shows it’s effects, luckily without incident.

Less scary, these opened their blooms the same morning (they are part of my hubby’s random seeding campaign in our front bed):