I Love Devon Rose

Wish list...

2012-02-05T19:16:00.000-08:00

...for the kitchen, dots linen tea towel

...for Devon's room, crochet valentine garland

...for our room, dream catcher clock

...for the living room, rustic coffee table

...for Devon, chalkboard growth chart

Year Of The Dragon

2012-01-23T21:26:00.000-08:00

Happy Chinese New Year! It's my favorite sign of the Chinese zodiac, so when one of my co-workers suggested a Chinese New Year themed board for this months floor visual, I jumped on it. Gregory made the gnome for the "do not touch" sign (who I originally found in the mouth of my dragon) but I just couldn't deal...this is super serious stuff! Even though I'm not born under the year of the dragon (I'm an Ox) I have a dragon tattoo wrapped around my forearm, as well as the Chinese character for "dragon" tattooed on the center of my chest. To me it's always been about what the dragon represents, which is "inner-strength" and the symbol for "rebirth of the soul" (also it's not really very sexy to have "Ox" square in the middle of your chest either) The dragon was so completely appropriate for the time in my life when I got these tattoos. I had been slacking around forever, trying to figure out what really inspired me and then it hit me (and I worked my ass off for a really long time) but had a great time doing it as well! I got to the very top of that mountain, then decided to jump off. I've spent a lot of wasted time regretting that decision. Now I've finally come full circle and see that it all had to happen... it was another lesson that I needed to learn and it's finally hit me again like a BRICK... and I think I need another dragon tattoo surrounded by roses:)

Rainbow Slubs

2012-01-15T20:17:00.000-08:00

I love so many of these amazing murals all over China Town, it makes living here so worth it. Devon really understands how to work the space here and enjoyed modeling our latest Rainbow Slub Sweater I apologise that I haven't really been into stocking our Etsy or working on the blog, but all of that is about to change.

Knits, yay!

2011-12-09T21:26:00.000-08:00

At work, we're constantly getting inundated with new amazing fabrics. It's so hard to resist this fabric addiction...the stash is growing! Wanted to share some new tops I made recently:)

Shopping and Sunday

2011-11-27T19:50:00.000-08:00

We didn't do too much Black Friday shopping, except some great deals on underwear, a couple cute sets of footie pjs, this really cute vintage piece, and a hamster. She named him "Bobby." Shown above is actually the orginal Bobby (who sadly ended up being extremly agressive) so meet Bobby #2 who's much, much tinier (so biting is not at all scarey but in fact, rather endearing... or at least to me)

She's very happy with him, so we've spent a great Sunday together playing with her new friend and shooting some new pieces for our Etsy. You can view them here and here:)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T11:38:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone is enjoying their day off with family and friends! We have so much to be thankful for...last year was a very difficult one, causing us to have to separate our family for several months so that we could get our lives back in order. So, I'm very thankful to be back together again in this city that we love. In celebration of this holiday, I wanted to share with everyone some pictures that we've taken on our family days off together exploring San Francisco:)

Better late then never

2011-11-09T16:07:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween! I had all these ideas poppin' around my head for Devon's costume this year, but she wanted to be Satsuki from "My Neighbor Totoro" so that worked out great since it was just an orange jumper and yellow top kind a thing:) Isaac and I took her trick-or-treating on some insanly packed street in the "Marina/Pac Heights" area where she quickly filled her bug bag. When we got home, I realised that she had scored two more bags full of candy from school...sugar! sugar! sugar!!!

We had a costume contest at work...I came as "Elvis in the 80's" but everyone thought that I was Michael Jackson (I got one "Artist formerly known as Prince" too) There were some really amazing outfits, but there was no beating Gregory the Gnome. He later showed me some pics that he took in the Castro where a group of like 5 gnomes tracked him down to get some "gnomie" pics...so hilarious!

Devon Rose

2011-10-14T13:11:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's been almost 5 months since our last posting. My apologies (although it's been nearly impossible to keep up with anything on-line being without Internet access for so long) but now that things are somewhat settled, I wanted to share some new photos of Devon wearing her freshly made butterfly dress and houndstooth leggings (both I constructed from fabrics that I found at my new job, Britex) although I guess it's not really new anymore since I've been there for 7 months now...my how time flies! It continues to be a constant source of inspiration (being around all those gorgeous textiles) and I've been newly promoted to 2nd floor supervisor. Isaac is very happy at his job at Levis, and Devon is growing by leaps and bounds in our new home in San Francisco's Chinatown. She loves her new school, has tons of new friends and is the funniest little chatterbox! Her school is literally around the corner from our apartment and Isaac and I work right next door to each other in Union Square (an 8 minute walk) We eat lunch together everyday in the park. It's so amazing to me how well everything fell into place for us here in beautiful San Francisco...so good to be home:)

Shot in SF

2011-05-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share some pictures I've shot during my time alone in San Francisco. I've been here since March 11th (without Devon or Isaac) and now it's finally only a week away from their arrival and the start of our new life together in SF. It's been a really interesting experience, even though at times it has also been very lonely. I've made some amazing new friends and keep bumping into old friends (from like 8 years ago) randomly on the street (one of the many things that I love about San Francisco) But it's like a new friend just told me the other day "San Francisco...it's just what you need"

This is what I see first thing most mornings, the ground floor of Britex....fabric heaven (there are 3 more floors of fabric happiness)This floor is all wools and silks and thousand dollar laces. You can get Chanel fabrics, Missoni, Etro, Proenza Schouler, and the list goes on and on...

I work on the second floor, it's all beautiful cottons, linens and amazing knits. We have a wall of Liberty of London (which always makes me think of Lucy and Catherine) The owner of Britex appointed me do the visuals on the floor as well. I made this mood board with Italian imported cottons, satins, and eyelets.

Speaking of visuals, I just had to share this amazing window display that went up at the Anthropologie on Market Street. It's 48,000 corks made into trees, vines, and various foliage. These pictures don't do it justice at all. It's easily the most amazing visual display I've ever seen...

....and then there's also tons of great street graffiti all over San Francisco. This guy stuck in my mind because it's how I felt on Mother's Day. Not only because I was alone and couldn't be with Devon on that day, but also because I had accidentally phoned my own Mom at 1am (I was texting a friend and accidentally brushed across her number on my touch screen without realizing it) She called me back, but it went straight to my voice mail. So, not only did I wake her up at an ungodly hour, but it made her worry the rest of the night (and all morning on Mother's Day) until I finally got the message and called her back...not my finest day...so sorry Mom!

These shots are my favorite, they are what I visualized when I decided we needed to go back to San Francisco...

...and this is the very spot I was at when I decided that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Isaac:)

Sweet Mila

2011-05-19T15:50:00.000-07:00

Here's a sweet and simple spotted dress I made (modeled by my friends daughter, Mila Lilith) She was a little shy, but so beautiful...I know that she and Devon will be great friends (only 10 more days until we are together again) This will be my last style available at Sweet William for this summer... meanwhile, I've been working at the most amazing fabric store, Britex. It's one of the best in the country (if not the entire world) and I'm constantly meeting customers who have flown in from all over the globe just to shop there. Being constantly surrounded by all this amazing fabric has been very inspiring and I cannot wait for everyone to see our Fall line....now that Devon will be four years old (and a little lady) I want to move the line's aesthetic from sweet to edgy.

Love

2011-05-15T13:46:00.000-07:00

My time with Devon and Isaac was short...but so sweet! I'm sorry it's taken me forever to finally post some pictures. Devon was asleep when I arrived and woke up in my arms. She gave me the biggest smile and said "Mommy!!!" and then we shared the tightest and longest hug. I had been scared that she might be upset with me for being gone for so long, but she was so happy to see me:) She looked much bigger and different in the face...so gorgeous! Isaac and I had a mini date when he picked me up at the airport. We had sushi and sake and he opened up the car door for me just like he used to do when we first met;)

Counting the days

2011-04-20T14:57:00.000-07:00

It's been over a month now since I've seen Isaac or Devon. Before this the longest I had been separated from Devon was three days, from Isaac...maybe a week? I miss them terribly, but talk to them often on the phone (once going a few days without being able to speak to them at all, while Isaac was in between getting his new phone) During that time I felt completely isolated and helpless (and guilty too!) One of those days, a co-worker asked me, "How is your family doing?" I responded by bursting into tears and then running to the bathroom, leaving her very confused I'm sure. So, I'm super excited to report that I will be reunited with Devon and Isaac this weekend! It's only going to be a few days but it's all I can think about, two more days...

As much as I miss them, I also have to make sure that I enjoy my time alone (something I really haven't had at all in the past three years) my time to finally go out with some friends, grab a drink...dance to some really amazing music, and be thankful that I finally made it back to the city where we fell in love:)

...shot on a beautiful day spent re-exploring china town...

...the view from my rooftop...

Kool Aid Fairies

2011-04-08T21:26:00.000-07:00

Here's something I worked on recently, fairy outfits for Athena and Milla (my good friend, Rebecca's beautiful girls) They played "Kool Aid" fairies in a rock video directed by Merkley Merkley (please be advised: there is nudity in Merkley Merkley's photostream)

Inspiration

2011-03-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

I roamed around Japan Town yesterday back to one of my favorite destinations when I lived here years ago, Kinokuniya Bookstore. They have the best fashion magazines and at the lowest prices of any location. I've always found Japanese mags to be so much more inspirational than any US publications. Instead of being chalk full of ads, it's page after page of gorgeous editorials and a million teeny tiny outfits laid out flat so that every little detail can be seen. I'm finding brands that I've never heard of before that are just genius like Good Evening, Wafflish Waffle and Snidel Girl. The image above is from Snidel Girls Spring '11 line, not the most attractive name (or nearly as funny as Wafflish Waffle) but definitely the most precious pieces for your little girl. They do a women's line as well, unfortunately it seems like it's only available in Japan:(

Happiness

2011-03-17T22:29:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a beautiful day! The brightest part of mine was getting this letter that Isaac sent along with some drawings from Devon. I love how lately she's been giving everyone little piggy noses:) She wanted me to know that this one was a picture of me holding her gameboy...I miss them so much!

Drape Pocket Loungers

2011-03-15T16:20:00.000-07:00

Here's some cute pics of my most recent Spring item for Sweet William. This fabric was one of the most difficult that I've dealt with so far. It's a rayon with a beautiful "basketweave" effect, great drape but super slippery! I ended up damageing two pairs of pant's in the final "clipping" phase...very frustrating. These little pants went from size 12m all the way up to 8Y. I wanted to apologize for being such a bad blogger lately. I've recently relocated to San Francisco and it's been really tough for me since Isaac and Devon are still in Southern California and will not be joining me for several weeks. Our Etsy boutique is also on vacation mode until I can reunite with my babies!

School Days

2011-02-24T16:42:00.000-08:00

Devon's first day of school was beautiful. I wish I could have gone to a school like this (my school was like a box) this place is total eye candy.... everywhere! It's like straight out of a fairytale, they even have miniature ponies. So, I'm happy to report that neither of us cried and she made friends right away. By day two she was like a pro, a quick kiss goodbye for Mom and Dad and she's out the door.There's definitely things that I remember from the age of three, so I'm hoping she remembers this place:)

Textured Denim Pieces

2011-02-16T19:09:00.000-08:00

Been working on Spring stuff for Sweet William. I was looking for engineer stripes, but found this beautiful textured denim much more interesting (and it's crisp, but still has a really soft hand). So happy I still had enough left over to make some cute little trousers for Devon to wear (since suddenly she's growing out of all of her pants) Just wanted to say that I'm really sorry I haven't been on it lately with posting. Things seem all over the place and next week Devon starts school. Will she cry or will I?

Babiekins Magazine

2011-02-09T22:09:00.000-08:00

YAY! The latest issue of Babiekins magazine is out, and I finally got to see the pictures that Devon shot in San Diego for this beautiful vintage photo shoot styled by my friend Heather and shot by Allie Lindsey. You can also read our feature in issue 4 here, thanks so much Priscila!

Moody

2011-02-03T20:38:00.000-08:00

...is how we're feeling most days

So we've been shooting a lot, trying to get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine and snails.

Sorry to disappear, we have limited internet access right now, but I'm still trying to get new product up quickly...fiending to go fabric shopping (right now, it's all about window shopping)

Devon had a growth spurt this week, I think. She going to be starting pre-school on the 22nd. We love this place! It has a petting zoo with swans, peacocks, the biggest tepee EVER, and a reading nook that looks like a hobbit house. First thing out of her mouth was " Wow, Mom! A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!"

Tea Party Dress

2011-01-20T16:24:00.000-08:00

Devon's cousin, Zoe gave her this little "Garden Tea Party" dress. I believe it was handmade in France and a gift from Nonie. Devon said she felt like a princess when she put it on.

Here’s one of our “Tea Party” dresses that I just sent off to a nine-month-old client. Her mother was checking out our sold items and fell in love with our Polka Dots and Petals dress. It was a one of a kind piece, but the substitute seersucker also works wonderfully with the original embroidered, polka dot cotton. We hope it makes her feel like a princess:)

The Bright Side

2011-01-18T17:08:00.000-08:00

Just a few weeks into a brand new year and already it seems that things are super chaotic. It would be so easy to slip back into that negative mind frame that I've been trying so hard to escape from. I read this the other day and it made me smile: "Whenever things seem to have gone terribly wrong, choose to see it as having gone tremendously well for reasons that are not yet apparent" It's my new favorite life lesson- so many lessons lately... things can't always be so serious though. Thank goodness for playtime, play dough and perfect peanut butter and jellies!

Holiday Sewing

2011-01-05T18:32:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Our family was lucky enough to have the free time this season to spend together (did a lot of playing) but I also did a lot of sewing over the holidays and wanted to share some pictures of the finished products made with core materials purchased on Etsy.

I made this purse for my Mom, modeled it after a vintage "weekender" bag. It seemed like it could be best used for toting around her quilting or crochet projects. The awesome 60's vintage print cotton was sourced from MoonParade . I highly recommend her to anyone who sews (or enjoys any kind of crafting) Reina ships very quickly, is super sweet, and always ties my packages together with some kind of amazing trim (which I always use later) as a ribbon.

I also made this Ipod Nano case for my Dad, I wanted it to look like an authentic, Chinese "little happy bundle" So, I found this hand stamped muslin ribbon at Kawaiigoodies. It was the first time I had purchased anything from this seller, but it arrived very quickly and was the perfect touch for this present. I'm embarrassed to write that I'm still working on presents for my sister and niece (and my brother's birthday which is right around the corner)

This batch order for babybird set me back a bit. She bought up all the last pieces of my cashmere for our little bonnets....and now I'm movin' onto Spring:)

Puppy Playdate

2010-12-28T08:26:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share this happy moment of Devon's first puppy playdate with my sister-in-law's new baby, "Mochi" We hope everyone had happy holidays!

Tiny Turbans

2010-12-24T15:13:00.000-08:00

Sand Dune Turban

Floral Burst Turban

I made myself a batch of these turbans last Winter. Recently, my friend Heather's been spotting them everywhere and thought I should offer some for kids. I'm also making a collection of teeny, tiny turbans for Penelope's Blythe Doll, Tigerlily:)