Emily August

I have been unforgiveably lazy on all fronts this week, and also non-responsive, socially.

Last night I did make a very cute dress from a muu muu, but I had neither the time nor the will to photograph it. I have to travel home (down the shore) for a few days (two funerals, now), so I will likely be non-responsive. I have to upload a bunch of things to my ETSY shop next week, and I have a long list of projects to pursue in clothing, handbags, zines, and eventually music and events. I have to get back on track or it will be June and I will be saying the same things over and over again.

Meanwhile I can point you somwhere else for diversion. My roommate Allison has started blogging about her commuting experiences in a new blog called boring commute. Its also clickable in my list of blogs on the righthand navigation panel, which, you may note, I enjoy sorting by length of blog title. Check it out and get a taste of life in the underground wilds between NY and NJ!

Oh! And I also received an amazing item in the mail from a seller on ETSY, so stay tuned to hear about that one next week.

My friends Dana and Colin (of The Smittens) are in this amazing band called Let’s Whisper. This weekend they make their NYC debut at a benefit show for NYC Popfest.

Here is the lineup:
Baskervilles 11-Midnight
The Smittens Present “Let’s Whisper” 10-10:45
One Happy Island 9-9:45

Let’s Whisper is on a Depeche Mode covers compilation, and on myspace.

• Lost a close friend’s father this week. This floored me.
• Ruby cat’s been sick. She keeps being weird, which is normal for her, but its very hard to tell if she’s well!
• Finished a huge project today. So happy about it.
• I realized that my creative process involves making the biggest mess possible and then spending three hours cleaning up afterward.
• Been dieting — successfully!
• Been writing not-online for a few projects on my radar.
• I realized last night that I would be capable of getting into a real, down and dirty, physical fist fight with someone if provoked.
• Same old, same old, otherwise

Ruby is the most glamorous cat a girl could hope for.

A most influential fashion photographer from the 1960s, John French’s work is archived at the V&A. I’ve been doing some work with them lately, and I end up on their site quite often, looking up contacts and goings on. Its lovely to find something so specific to my tastes whilst at work! Did I mention I love my job?

These specific photos immediately make me think of twee pop, film photography, swing coats (which are probably the only trend that I haven’t gotten sick of lately), and the serious art of mod fashion, which in itself is kind of ridiculous. I wonder if my love of these high fashion snobs is why I can never smile in a photo of my own taking? I mean, its not like I am taking myself seriously, but who can really tell?

Thank you, fashion gods, for giving me a false sense of identity and an equally false hope that all will be perfect with the world if I can just find the right riding boots and winter coat.

A friend from home is spinning tonight starting at 11:00 pm.

Working on a secret project today! I can’t talk about it. It involves measurements. And personal style.

Didn’t get too many things done this long weekend, but I did get pretty organized on some stuff. Also watched some horrible (I mean amazing) movies with Rory, and a few episodes of INTERVENTION on A&E, which I almost always have to watch if it comes on. I don’t think either of us has left the apartment once, except to take out the trash and buy falafel down at Ibby’s!

Also, Ruby was sick and it broke my heart.

Just for fun last night, I sewed up some quick Valentine face cloths and put them up on ETSY in pairs, for cheap. I just love an excuse to use recycled red fleece, lately.

I am going to keep one of the mess-up cloths in my guitar case to wipe down my guitar after playing. My dad will be happy to know that; he has always earned part of his living playing in a band, and he’s vigilant and persistent about caring for his instruments. A soft, non-abrasive cloth like this is perfect for absorbing oil residue from your skin on the neck and body of the guitar, after you handle it. I guess these things do get passed on from generation to generation.

Thinking about also doing something for this contest: Handmade Parade Vintage Pillowcase Contest. Though I do have to admit that I do not like the idea of losing a treasured piece of linen to my own sewing mishaps, I think its nice to be challenged, AND to have a deadline to get a project done!

Check out Rory’s post on Instructables, showing you how to make a Shake Microphone. We use this all the time, mostly to call Ruby’s name across the apartment (which seems to make her happy). It is also fun at parties, and I want to play around with it while recording songs.

The effect is very Lou Barlow. If you click the picture below it will take you to the page on Instructables, which is also a featured project right now. Be sure to watch the video he posted to see how it sounds.

Note our new work space as the background. Also, check out Rory’s web site prize-pony to learn about other projects he is working on.

I got my sewing machine back in 2004 or 2005, I can’t remember which. I know that I had it when I lived near Red Bank, because here is a picture of my old roommate’s cat sitting on my sewing table, which never got used. I bought the machine on sale at Target, and I remember learning how to thread the machine and then immediately giving up when the thread tension would not magically adjust itself to work properly. The sewing table was usually full of laundry, and cats. And polaroids and sketchpads.

After I moved out, I set up a studio in my parents’ basement (2006?) and then promptly neglected the space aside from sporadic projects, and the occasional photo shoot. Everything was set up on top of a dog crate, and I had a big long Rubbermaid wardrobe to store the clothing I intended to sew and sell. I worked long hours, had a really long commute and was generally pretty miserable at this time. The colors and the prospect of storing these items in a usable way were enough to make me happy. I would go down there and just rifle through the drawers for a few hours, and took lots of photos of clothes for no clear reason. I did a lot of dumpster diving and thrifting at this time as well, and my mother probably wanted to kill me.

Then, I moved out of the house and into a comfortably crowded situation in a narrow apartment with my sisters. I set up different work stations for my computer vs. my crafts and sewing, but again I never got a thing done in that space. As a consolation, I splurged on a sale at JoAnn’s and got my sewing form. This was also back when I still had a car at my disposal, yet I could not go thrifting very often because of the fact that you cannot park anywhere in North Jersey during the week. Anyway, the dress form made me very happy, and I started taking classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology in graphic design and basic sewing, which I intend to continue once I have paid off my credit cards (this summer).

Choosing to move to Jersey City was kind of the final step in this evolution. There is so much to say about my neighborhood that I’ll leave that to another post. I have just really been appreciating the space and simplicity of our lives lately, and I can’t wait to see where this takes us in the next year.

The answer is Amazing Places.

First things first!

Good news for those who don’t fit those slimmer styles:
American Apparel is now carrying bigger sizes.

Secondly.

I found this really well articulated post about the ways we share our information with each other on the web, and what happens when it starts to consume our every day lives.

From an article in Wired about microcelebrity we read this: “But haven’t our lives always been a little bit public and stage-managed? Small-town living is a hotbed of bloglike gossip. Every time we get dressed — in power suits, nerdy casual wear, or goth-chick piercings — we’re broadcasting a message about ourselves. Microcelebrity simply makes the social engineering we’ve always done a little more overt — and maybe a little more honest.”

I have always been someone who is involved publicly (putting on shows, publishing my writing, and performing, whether it was in front of a church as a kid, or a crowd of my friends in my own living room), and I am perfectly comfortable with people knowing what I am up to on a creative front as well as in my personal life. However, I would hate to be scrutinized in the same public arenas for, say, my weight or my ethnic background, or even just something stupid that I might end up saying or doing. Therefore, I have had a little bug in my ear telling me that maybe I should edit the things I say, or how much I share. I am not sure if that means that I would be considered dishonest, or just smart!

What is it exactly that we’re doing, and what does it all mean? As you grow more mature, do you find yourself editing the things you publish about yourself, or do you find that you feel more comfortable to be more “open”?

I wonder if this Brand Yourself trend will continue and where it will be by the time I have my own children. Its neat, but confusing and a little bit of a pollutant all at the same time. We shall see, oh Internet. We shall see.

Just a little column I felt like initiating here. I’ll try to post once a week on something that consistently tends to inspire me in my design, fashion, and thrifting endeavors. This one is easy. I love vintage colors, and the innocence of childhood, especially as depicted in late 50’s, 60’s and early 70’s graphic styles. There is something about these Memory Game tiles that makes me feel at home in my own imagination. I find the color choices to be bright and cheerful but also clearly dated, like the use of teal for blue, and the shading techniques in some of the backgrounds.

I have saved these for years. I keep them in an airtight plastic bag, because I don’t want anything to happen to them, and yet I don’t know what to make from them that would keep their integrity. They are wonderful as-is, small squares of color on a thick, sturdy cardboard. I pull out the tiles and shuffle them around whenever I find my stash. Because my collection is pulled from various editions of the game that I found in different thrift stores, this is one of those things I don’t think I could easily replace.

I didn’t get as many things done this weekend as I was planning. This is likely due to the fact that Elle and I went to a party in Jersey City on Friday night, and then I hosted a big get together for my sisters, and babysat Saturday night. The rest of the time I spent working on some of the work I brought home from school, and going through my paperwork and files with a fine tooth comb and a shredder. I am only about halfway done doing that, but it feels good to at least have shredded so many unncessary items so far. I actually didn’t even get dressed this morning and am still in my pajamas as I type this.

Just a side effect of switching jobs and moving forward in life. I absolutely hate doing paperwork and always leave it until it becomes a monster pile. Then I use my own guilt to get myself motivated to clean up the space, and usually end up drinking a lot of coffee or eating bits of chocolate to make it through in one piece.

At least now we are officially now hooked up with a proper work room. This is a shot of our work table, complete with cutting mats from Rory’s parents that will make cutting fabric and paper a lot easier with a rotary blade. The table was custom built by Rory’s dad to fit our space. You can see our records and tupperware drawers full of electronics and craft supplies, plus my stereo below. One of Rory’s turntables is also up on top.

I wish I had another day to keep working on reducing my paperwork down, because I’m starting to feel like I’m on a roll. I also am kind of feeling under the weather, and dreading the snow forecast. I would love to stay in tomorrow, and work on some sewing or put more of my things up for sale online. Next week I’ll have a three-day weekend, so I hope I have the chance then. My inner asthmatic is dreading the cold air threatening to give me bronchitis, and my inner lazy bones want to stay in my pajamas for five days straight.

Drawn freehand-style with the pen in Adobe Illustrator. The knives are decorative brushes that just needed to be there, because it suits my mood today.

Alright, so I was literally going to throw this dress away. I put it on and it was huge on me. The fabric was flimsy, the pockets sad, even the buttons wouldn’t stay put because they were just wrong for the house dress. It was just in with a huge stash of clothing that I’m going through.

First thing i had to do was rip off the sleeves. I really wanted to see if I could do a simple rolled hem and make it look half-way decent… RIP RIIIP. Great fun!

I did an okay job at the sewing machine, though my second sleeve was certainly better than my first. Next, I attacked the buttons, replacing them all down the front with bigger, sturdier buttons that would actually hold in place.

After trying it on at this point, I realized that it was really just a tent with pockets, so I got really very daring and decided to master the use of darts under the bust. When it was still to big, I literally took it in along the front, closing the placket front and taking it in about three inches all around. Now its a pull-it-over-your head kind of thing.

So, this is the top:

And a view of my attempt at adding shape. The dress is screaming for styling help, which I will attempt to give. See, the nice thing is that if I mess this up, I was only going to throw it away anyhow!

Taken in my kitchen in Jersey City, NJ. Rory and I were heading out to check out some local galleries in our neighborhood this afternoon. It was fun! Downtown Jersey City rocks.

Posted to: flickr.com/groups/wardrobe_remix/

I used to do a zine called Ricemilk. It was carried in a few public libraries and I traded it with other zinesters back in the day for zines, mail art, postcards, you name it. I miss those days. I would interview bands, artists, my friends. I just kind of spilled my mind onto paper and filled the blank parts with photos that I’d taken, or little inane drawings. I started getting too many requests to do CD reviews, which was never my intention, and I ended up getting overwhelmed and just stopped writing it.

I still read zines and graphic novels. I love to go to Giant Robot in NYC and just see what is available. Some of my favorite artists are Junji Ito (he does japanese horror manga that reminds me of young adult novels from the 60s), Adrian Tomine (picked up a signed copy of Shortcomings for Rory for Christmas), Aaron Cometbus, and random personal zines the store will carry time and again.

Lately I have started writing, and think that I will start doing a new zine with my roommate Allison. We collaborate on a shared Google document that I know I have been neglecting!

Anyway, when I spotted them on a shelf in our apartment, I thought it would be nice to make these available. Issue One and Two are up now. Issue three is trapped down in my closet at my parents’ house, so it will be a while before I am down there with a car to bring some more stuff up here. Issue Three was cool because I got to interview the band Ida and Kevin Barnes from Of Montreal.

It was actually my whole idea to start the shop in ETSY as a kind of old-school distro. Once I finish uploading my piles of vintage clothes, I’ll start reaching out to friends who record the music I love, and other zine writers who might like me to carry their handmade stuff in my shop. It would just be really nice to be putting stuff out there again.

By the way, the girl in the cover photos is my mother. I am in love with these images, taken in the late 1940s.

I feel like this vacation was pulled out from under me way too fast, and I feel all sulky about waking up early tomorrow and getting on subway (or even earlier and climbing on the treadmill if I’m as gung-ho as I should be).

Tonight I decided to give up on my other do-good projects and rip into this godawful tunic I kept wearing all the time, even though it looked really bad on me. The sound of the seams ripping was just thrilling. As Tim Gunn says, horizontal stripes are really only for inmates.

I ended up turning the tunic into a miniskirt and a headwrap. The skirt isn’t finished yet, and will likely morph into something else… just lots of me practicing finishing edges properly and shaping with knits in my sewing machine. Knits are really hard to control in the feed dog, that much I have learned.

Anyway, I was happy with this little number, and sized it to fit my huge head (and I don’t mean my misplaced ego). The added bonus is that I have something to cover my choppy haircut for the time being!

Oh, and P.S.: I did end up making Ruby a toy today. Its more of a prototype really, but at least I got the pointy nose shape down! I gave it to Ruby and she did play with it for about three seconds before returning to her nap. Truthfully she was more interested in my patternmaking– crinkly paper never ceases to amaze Ruby.

Two cat posts in a row definitely means that I have been holed up at home for too long. Happy New Year and may the end of the work week come quickly.