Hey everyone,
Here's a photo taken for my graduation collection, hope you like it ! ;)



( more this way... )

this weekend i was shopping for beads to make accessories for my presentation, that happened on monday, and i found aglets very similar to the ones sold at venacava. their quality is a bit inferior but they only cost around 5p(GBP) each, which makes me think that i'll probably find a better quality product for maybe even less in são paulo, so that was a pleasant surprise.
the presentation went ok, apart from my inability to speak in public. big relief, but now i have to decide which way to go with my career, scary...
i apologise if i missed any important posts on my f-list but things were chaotic over here this past few days.
here's a snapshot of the aglets. top one is from venacava, bottom one from brazil.

this 'company' has been stealing images from brazilian and international corset makers for some time now. guess who's their latest victim...
to sue or not to sue... ugh... there are three corsetmakers suing them already.
the worst thing is, some people actually fall for that.
http://www.madamecher.com.br/
and yeah, the name is a knock-off of madamesher.com

i've just finished the last corset for my graduation collection, which will be presented at mid-january. instead of the required 8 complete looks, i'll be presenting 5, hopefully, i'll still be able to graduate. it was either this or another full year working on this collection. things would look a lot better and i wouldn't have to make so many compromises but i can't stand this feeling of being stuck, not moving forward...
i had major set backs on my personal life, and as much as i hate to put off work, family is more important.
anyway, for this corset i went for a victorian bodice look, so most od the boning channels are hidden by the fashion layer. 54cm waist, spiral and spring steel boning, two-part grommets, 2 layers of coutil. got some wrinkling at the bust sides :( it was fine when i did the mock-up...sigh...



( detail + matching choker )

two more neck corsets are finished.
( pictures this way... )

finished this one yesterday...
the presentation was postponed to january because all schools were shut down for about a month due to the swine flu.



( detail shot )

http://www.winkmag.com.br/
page 41 of the current issue...
trying to look serious yet friendly... ugh!

one of the things i missed the most after switching from a home sewing machine to an industrial, is the lamp just above the needle, i sew a lot of black and dark material and the desk lamp i was using wasn't just the same.
but i found a magnetic sewing machine lamp and love it. it connects to the machine power switch so no batteries are needed. it's LED so it'll hopefully last for a while and won't burn my fingers.



( 2 more pics )

another neck piece finished. this time, i used victorian high neck collars as reference.
i should have used a heavier interlining and probably more bones to avoid the bulging i got... *sigh* if i only had the time to fix it... i have been saying this a lot these past few months...



( and a tooled logo... )

one of the requirements for my graduation collection is that i present illustrations for my designs.
so i've made this one:i'm not happy with it.
i hate the way the background turned out.
and i think it looks a bit too comic like. the idea was to simulate a woodcut or engraving. fail...
the references i used for this are the medieval illuminations, the kelmscott chaucer (william morris) and victorian fashion plates.
should i suck it up and leave it like it is and make the other 19 drawings the same way (and pray my line work abilities increase), or should i start over with another style of illustration?
i'm leaning towards medieval illuminations, with paintings instead of the line work. and what would be best, more stylised portraits like the illuminations or more realistic like the medieval paintings (bosch).
help please! pretty please!
any comment is greatly appreciated!

masks are fun to make!
these are also part of my graduation collection:


( 6 more... )

this corset was a true nightmare, i had problems every step of the way. i thought things couldn't go more wrong when i made the underbust...WRONG! ha!
there were so many layers that my machine started skipping stitches... so i had to turn to hand sewing... i lost count of how many needles i broke... finding the best way to do something takes a ridiculous amount of time, trials and errors...
had a few problems with the turn-of-cloth too.
if i only had the time...
i had to decide between doing things properly or graduate... and as much as it kills me to move away from something i know i can do better, i have to move forward, i have to graduate this year!
if i could i would burn everything down and start from scratch, but i can't afford that...oh well..

victorian midbust corset with a tooled leather hip panel. veg-tan leather, cowhide, satin, coutil strength layer and lining, waist tape, spiral and spring steel boning, spoon busk, two-part grommets, blood, sweat and tears..



( detail shot and a neck corset )

now it's time to have a look at busks!

( click if you want to see the infamous brazilian busk! )

this journal has been dead for a few months, it's time to post something! sooo, after reading one post at corsetmakers , i figured it would be nice to show the little differences between what's sold here (brazil) and elsewhere.
( onto the pictures and comparisons )

last month i was approached by a stylist that i met during a fashion contest a couple of years ago. she asked if she could use the garments from that contest for a local magazine editorial and since she asked if i had anything else she could use, i offered one of the corsets from my graduation collection. here's the result:

this corset was so hard to finish, every issue i had with it led to another! there are still some things i have to work on if i ever make this model again... oh well, live and learn...
it's made of tooled and filigreed veg-tan leather, dyed with vinegar rust. this baby has a coutil strength layer and lining, red satin under the filigreed parts, flossing, waist tape, fully boned with flat steels and also has lacing bones and a 10"busk. 21" waist.