JoanaK's Blog

Valentina update and a chance to win a free apron.

2013-01-24T20:46:00.001-08:00

The valentina apron is currently being sold at I Heart Handmade in downtown ventura california.
(433 E Main St. Suite #16, Ventura, CA)

RSVP and be in attendance at the grand opening of "I Heart Handmade boutique" for a chance to win the VALENTINA apron!!

click here to RSVP

I heart handmade collection exclusive sketches

2013-01-03T16:48:00.003-08:00

freshly sketched today!

Enjoy :)

Joana K in a boutique!?

2013-01-03T14:02:00.001-08:00

GREAT NEWS!
I found an adorable little store that is in Ventura on main street. The store is called "I heart handmade" I had a talk with the owner yesterday and she loved what I do. My items should be in their store by the end of the month.

here is a pic of the store taken from their facebook fan page.

because they are brand spanking new and I want to make sure my items look good in their store I am making an exclusive collection.

Here is a peek at one of the items.

I have already named her

VALENTINA

I started working on a draft today below is the picture of the UNFINISHED draft.

The end product will NOT be in this fabric or colors. It will most likely resemble the sketch above.

I still have to add the straps and make the finished pattern to apply to the actual fabric I will be using.

Stay tuned for more peeks at the exclusive "I heart handmade" collection.

;-D

October recap november update

2012-11-09T10:05:00.000-08:00

There is really waay too much going on with me these days lol. Ive neglected my own blog sadly :( sorry guys. But, Im here now and have an update for you.

My apron launch for the halloween themed aprons was a success I sold out! I am still keeping the items online but am only doing "made to order" since I have some limited supplies but none on hand.

The etsy store I opened is doing good and creating lots of interest for me I am grateful for that.Bellow are the Halloween aprons I launched in October.

www.joanak.com

http://www.etsy.com/shop/JoanaKDesigns

I am also having a sale on all 3 aprons (Wifey, Halloween Hostess and Wiatch apron)

As for my website. I have quite a good balance of ambiance and style going on (if I do say so myself) Im having so much fun with it.

October 31st was my official 3 dress debut and It went well.

Even though my model cancelled last minute and I was on a mad search for a new model I ended up being able to post the dresses for sale on time. Sadly the shoot will have to be pushed back till the next batch of dresses though :(

I did receive lots of positive feedback about the dresses though :) after fixing the glitches on the website I found that It going to be a breeze getting them loaded on there now woohoo!!!

With the model search, sample dress drama, making my neighbors daughters Halloween costume & website issues I still managed to pull it all together meet my deadline and make some bad ass costumes for my husband son and myself for halloween!! hahah.

I hope you all had a safe and fun Halloween. I know I did!.

The morning after halloween I took down all the outdoor and indoor halloween decor and moved on to thanksgiving/holiday preparations. I put up a nice thanksgiving garland and am now working on the Xmas and Chanukah apron.Neither one of these are 100% finished yet. I hope to get them done by next week. :)

Sorry for the sideways picture bellow of the Chanukah apron.

Im going to catch up on some chores and tidy up so I can work a little bit on the aprons today. Ill catch you guys later <3

apron update

2012-06-27T08:07:00.000-07:00

So my adventures in fund raising for my clothing line took off pretty good with the totes and like I mentioned I also decided to add aprons to the mix.

my original idea was to make a huge package deal where you would get
a reversible tote
a reversible apron
a cute headband and
a kitchen towel
=all for a flat price

My idea was chopped up because I just didnt have the time to work on aprons aaaand totes.

Now that my tote sales had calmed down a bit I decided to go back in and revisit the package idea

monday I actually finished the first reversible apron and pattern.

the actual product will have black also (ill upload those pics when I get a chance)

I decided to go with the bombshell top and slightly full skirt bottom for coverage. When I finished it I actually wanted to make 2 more but for now I dont want to over do it.

here is the pic of me in the apron with the matching headband

I will have more updates as the week progresses. So far day 1 of production was spent writing blogs so I have to try and produce today. which should have been day 2 or production.

I also added a pic of me in the apron (cartoon style) on my website yesterday :)
www.joanak.com (desktop view)

long over due Update

2012-06-19T14:48:00.002-07:00

The longer time I spend away the more you know I have going on.
This time Its been more personal stuff than actual work going on :( First it was my husband who got sick from a bug my mother had. Then it was my son having a fever for a week. We originally thought it was the same bug but when he started screaming at the top of his lungs at 3am and his medicine wouldn't bring down that fever we knew it was more serious. Lots of stuff happened but he just got a clean bill of health from the doc today. :) he is back to normal and acting like himself again. This means I have to really go back to work re organizing my office and getting these little "fund raising" projects for my clothing line back on track.

I actually have been contributing to the hautewives blog on and off but I think we have had so many other personal things going on that its also been taking a back seat.Ive changed the logo to a kiss instead of the vintage thingy we had before. I am also working on getting the website up <3 it was 99.9% done at the beginning of this month but I had to push the launch day back because when I did my test launch I realized some of the links and pages weren't working correctly. Even the techs online didn't know what was wrong. Its still being worked on and I'm hoping that we can debut that next month.

I also had a really successful little TOTE launch in my neighborhood. I have always wanted to make something small to raise funds and this was the perfect item. To my surprise they were a hit and I got about 30 orders in the first 2 days!! I was so excited that I decided to start working on some aprons and a summer wrap dress to go with the totes. Right when I thought I was going to finish up the apron and dress is when my hubby and son got sick so I had to slow down. I hope to be able to pick back up where I left off and work on all this stuff next week.

The premier of the tv show that I contributed my dress too (perfect destruction) came and went.
I sadly couldn't attend because I had too many orders of totes to make and deliver. :( it was the saddest day ever knowing I couldn't see my dress on the big screen but the Executive Producer-Director-Writer (Tiffany Ariany) did mention that I would have another chance to see it at the film festival this year. I'm hoping to get back in touch with her soon and get more info.

As far as writing gig I had with society 805(online magazine) ....
well that's complicated to be completely honest I'm not even 100% sure I know what the true issue is or was but, I tried my hardest to rectify it with no luck. I gave many apologies and a tote on my behalf. I hope that she is well with her and I wish her the best. I don't have time to be spending on negative things and thoughts so I have moved onward and upward since then.

I actually updated my website today and added 2 new dresses to my sneak peek section. If you haven't logged on to it recently you will also see a new link "TOTE STORE" which is where I am selling my totes. The wrap dress and apron should be available to buy online really soon so keep an eye out for that :)

THATS ALL FOR NOW FOLKS!

hopefully Ill be able to write another update soon :)

till then have a good one!

Sassy City Chicks fashion bash event

2012-04-20T19:41:00.000-07:00

After speaking to Hautelife Marketing Firm.
I got us (the hautewives fashion group) and 25 lucky followers into a HOT fashion event.

No, its not a fashion show, its even better!.
Its a top designer Sample!! It might as well be a fashion show though.
With a dj, spa,cocktails and swag bags I mean it sounds like a fashion show to me lol

It will be the first time we (The HauteWives Fashion Group) will be known as "Press"
so wish us luck on this one :) <3

P.S Below is your personal invite to this event.
Join us as we clean the racks out! ;-D. Ill more about this soon.
(Click on the ad)

The FIRST 25 fashionistas to enter code

HAUTEWIVES

will win a FREE Sassy Tote Ticket.

***Ticket includes: admission, swag bag, free cocktails, free spa treatments.

Finally Updated my website!! yay!

2012-04-13T12:17:00.001-07:00

Got the new logo up on the intro page of my site

and working on the blog and twitter right after this blog.

I decided to keep it simple yet cute.

I usually sign little hearts around my actual signature so I felt it worked perfectly.

I hope you all get a chance to visit my recently updated website from your desktops www.joanak.com

my friend and neighbor Patty Jones is rocking the home page for me <3. I also got a chance to put up all the pix of my most recent work under portfolio.

Ive been a little busy with all my Hautewives posts. If you guys haven't checked that out yet you should!!! its awesome. I'm having lots of fun with it.

www.hautewives.blogspot.com

On another note I had a chat with my mother in law on Easter.

She made alot of good points and left me with some homework.

Since its a rainy day and I'm going to stay in anyways

I figure I might as well get started on that homework....

organization

2012-03-29T17:22:00.001-07:00

Every once in a while my mind becomes very clear and re-organization takes place in my office. This morning was one of those days. I managed to edit my collection sketches. I have it down to about 25 pieces now and I'm feeling good about it.

The story line managed to stay in tact even with my cuts. The feeling of the collection is still very much concise and I am now on the journey to create my samples and patterns. :)

Cutting back on projects :( a little bit about my personal life.

2012-03-28T10:18:00.002-07:00

The stress of having to write and put together an article while juggling my son, husband, dress line, blog, website, 2 dogs, laundry etc, etc, etc. was really wearing on me. I had to tell the editor of Society 805 that I cannot take on projects via text last night. I felt horrible about it but for now I neeeeeeed to concentrate on my sample dresses.

I am absolutely grateful she is willing to work around my busy life and schedule. As for the Wedding article I was supposed to write up. It might be handed down to someone else on her team.

Trying to explain to someone that doesn’t have kids that my son comes first no matter what. It might make me sound like I’m not serious about my business but, to me it’s not important to “make it big” or “rake in the cash”. I am blessed enough to not have to worry about things like that right now. I have an absolutely wonderful husband who is supportive and loving no matter what I do and a son who is growing up so fast that I would hate to miss a moment of it.

I am one of those women who can’t bare the thought of leaving my only baby to a nanny just so I can pursue a dream (that everyone knows can wait). I am not that selfish. I am contemplating actually hiring my own mother to come and watch my son once or twice a month to give me a full day in my office. I might be a clingy mom but, I don’t EVER plan on having any more babies. So I’m going to enjoy this time in my life to the fullest. It won’t ever happen again and I would hate to miss it.

Having said all of that my mornings are actually pretty hectic. I wake up change and feed my son. Tidy up the mess we left in the living room, Office and kitchen the night before. Some days I tidy up and do laundry. As I’m doing all of that I play games and chat AT my son lol. I let him hang with me in the office as I check my emails and social sites. He loves hanging out in there because that’s usually where my dogs are.

Once or twice a week I go on walks with the dogs and baby. The rest of the week my husband tries to work from home and takes the dogs and my son on those walks. Our lives have no SET schedule as of now. Sometimes I join my husband at work and lend him a hand. He does the same whenever he works from home and watches our son while I try and work. Thankfully our son isn’t too much too handle. But he is only 1 ½ years old so I might be speaking too soon. (Knock on wood)

I recently realized that my life is virtually stress free. The time I spend in my office creating dresses is like my Spa time. I get to relax and do what I love to do. Even the times when I’m running around the house after my son I cherish so much because in my mind I know I wont ever get to go through it again with another baby of my own. Looking at his reactions to things, teaching him words, and how to do things is amazing to me.

Stress, to me, usually comes from when I try to do too much and I begin to realize I’m ignoring my husband, son, or parents. Now that I know how much is TOO much I can go on with life trying to balance it all.

"Daliah"

2012-03-27T19:28:00.000-07:00

I finally had the chance to work on a dress from my collection today.

This is "Daliah"

and so far she is only 40% Complete. she is being held together with pins only right now but so far I'm loving the shape she is taking on my dress form :)

Ill post new pics later

The sketch is what it will look like once its done.;-D

New pictures of the Heidi dress on the set.

2012-03-26T18:56:00.005-07:00

OMG! I would kill to have her body!! lol shes toooooo cute!

Dress for T.V pilot "The Perfect Destruction"

2012-03-26T15:12:00.001-07:00

I cant hold off from sharing any longer so here are the pix I took on Friday of the dress I contributed to the T.V pilot "The Perfect Destruction".

I was so excited the dress fit her :) she has such a tiny little waist I'm so jelly! lol
I'll post more pictures once I get them from the producers.

As you can see in the end I went with the original "Heidi" dress pedal trim. (unreleased Joana k. Collection).

New dress project!

2012-03-23T14:22:00.000-07:00

While on the red carpet at Gower Studios fashion weekend. I met an adorable girl Tiffany Ariany and her friend David Ryan Speers. Below is a picture of them doing the interview thing.

We introduced ourselves and exchanged information. Tiffany right away was excited to hear I am an up and coming designer and asked me to contribute to her movie "Perfect Destruction".

I accepted the invitation to contribute to her movie. The only scary thing was that the dress was due Saturday. Leaving me only a week to gather the fabric and work with nothing but measurements. No fittings no nada. It just HAS to work.

As always I hit the ground running so first thing Tuesday morning, I payed my good old friends a visit at the Los Angeles fabric district and as always they totally hooked me up with amazing deals ;-D

9th. Street Fabrics (213) 627-5961

<That was me calm cool and collected while I was shopping for fabrics....yeah then I got home and started freaking out about the due date of the dress! lol Thankfully Tiffany chose a dress from my website. "The Heidi" which doesn't have intense manual labor but regardless making a dress for a movie in a week while having NO BABYSITTER and a husband that works Mon-Fri is stressful!!! There are a couple of things that occurred to me while I was making the dress itself. Thankfully its not too late to change it. The original dress has a pedal trim on the top and bottom. I started to think about how it would look on film and made a back up option in case it didn't work out. Below is the original pedal trim and close up.

So because I wanted to have a back up to the fringe trim I made this straight edge finished ruffle trim. We will see what happens and what they choose to have on the movie but, so far so good.

OMG THE DRESS IS DUE TOMOROOOOWW!!!! lol wish me luck!

more pix and details soon to come.

Dina Bar-el collection at gower studios fashion weekend.

2012-03-23T13:53:00.003-07:00

Definitely a delightful show to watch. Her dresses were wonderful. My editor offered me the opportunity to interview her in a more intimate setting and I am crossing my fingers that I get the chance to do so. Overall she seemed like a wonderful woman who really understands and respects the female body.

here are my favorite looks from her collection

Jelena Vujanovic Collection at gower studios fashion weekend

2012-03-21T13:38:00.000-07:00

Here are my favorite runway looks by

Jelena Vujanovic

gower studios Los angeles fashion weekend

Betsey Johnson Collection at gower studios fashion weekend

2012-03-21T09:33:00.001-07:00

I loved Betsey Johnson's Collection but, then again whats not to love?

Fashion Weekend Before show and Red Carpet pix

2012-03-20T20:11:00.001-07:00

OMG! just looking at these pix makes me as gitty as I was when I was there! hahah. Had such a blast cant wait to do it again!

Beauty and fashion Writer for society 805 at the napoleon Make Up counter.

Napoleon Make up station

Shawn Kelly with Napoleon make up artist.

Some handsome men hanging out before the event.

Mikey Koffman with Shawn Kelly

Sue Wong March 16th 2012

2012-03-20T18:50:00.004-07:00

Here are the pix you all were waiting for

I had such a blast. The food was great. The dresses were AAAAMAZING! I absolutely have a new favorite designer.

Taylor armstrong

Sue Wong

Last nights fashion show Designers

2012-03-17T15:35:00.000-07:00

Ill be working on getting my pictures from last night sorted out.

As far as all the wardrobe drama goes. Everything actually worked out in the end Except for my waist ribbon :(. I wore pants in the morning to sue wongs event with a new blouse. Then changed into my dress for the gower event with no zipper issues :)

I went with the Pretty in Mink Joey Quan Lashes because they had a more natural look. I loved how light they felt it was amazing.

didnt have time for many accesories but my hair was done by Amy Giglio (a local hairstylist) and my shoes were by Enzo Angiolini

Heres a pic of me when I arrived to the media area infront of the red carpet.
YAAAAY!!!! :)

The first event I attended was Sue Wong's fashion show inside an office building in (Korea Town) Los Angeles.

pictured Bellow is Fashion Designer Sue Wong. Next to her in the black top hat is her Jewelry Designer Polthakorn Joe Viboonviriyawong. The men on the left and right I believe are her assistants.

The second event was Fashion Weekend at Gower Studios featuring collections by Betsey Johnson, Dina Bar-el, and Jelena Vujanovic

pictured bellow is designer Dina Bar-el and Me in my dress <3

Pictured Below is French Designer Jelena Vujanovic and her model.

Lots more pix from these designers collections soon to come!

<3 Joanak <3

Huge wardrobe malfunction(s)

2012-03-16T10:55:00.001-07:00

This morning, while I was getting everything ready, I decided to make a last minute alteration to my dress. I removed the ribbon because I was afraid it would Frey and unravel. After I removed the ribbon I decided to try it on to make sure it looked good. All was fine until I tried to take it off. The zipper broke on me as I was unzipping it. It would have been a semi easy fix if I had a spare black zipper laying around but, I don't. That was my last one. I had to squeeze my way out of it then spent some time trying to repair it and looking for something to replace it with frantically. No luck. I repaired the break but, because it was a damaged track I now can't open the zipper. I even had my husband trying to help and almost broke down in tears. I decided to pull out some editor pants I hadn't worn before and am wearing that to the first fashion show (Sue Wong) this Morning. I am hoping that I can fix my zipper problem and wear it to the gower studios fashion weekend event. MORE BAD NEWS. As we were getting gas at our local gas station I decided I wanted a Starbucks mocha frap (the on the go ones) and began to drink it as my husband pulled out of the gas station. Because there was a huge truck blocking his view of oncoming traffic he jerked forward and slammed on the break as I was mid sip.....I'm sure you all know what happened next. As you know the Starbucks container has a very wide drinking top. Almost half of the drink spilled down the front of my brand new never been worn purple silk top. In an attempt to clean it up I started to wipe it down with my son's diaper wipes (a clean one mind you) but no luck there either. The top is ruined. On our way to LA I had to stop and buy a new top. I am very unhappy with it but I'm rolling with the punches today :(.

update on dress #2 and (Joey Quan) lash vote

2012-03-15T17:51:00.000-07:00

Sadly I will probably not be able to finish dress#2 :(
This is a huge disappointment for me but, time just wont allow it.
UNLESS....I cant sleep tonight. ;-) in which case ill pull another all nighter and surprise you all tomorrow morning lol....very doubtful though.

As far as preparation for this event goes.
-I have someone coming to do my hair tonight :)
-I had my Mani/pedi & eyebrows waxed the other day.
-on my own for makeup though since no one I know can do it last minute :(

Fun note though:
I'm actually getting really excited and anxious to put on my brand spanking new

MINK Eyelashes and Hair Crystals by Joey Quan

(visit his site for more info www.shopjoeyquan.com )

Which pair do you guys think I should wear on the red carpet tomorrow?? I'm torn between the 2 and feedback is greatly appreciated. They are both great looking but I cant decide!

Pretty In mink...

or Mink Out Loud?

here they are side by side

Comment and let me know :-)

brain dead right now.

2012-03-15T00:57:00.000-07:00

So here I am trying to concentrate on starting this dress.....ITS NOT WORKING!! :( so pissed I stayed up so late last night.

My sleep schedule is way off. I know I'm not going to get anything done :(
My cleaning crew is coming tomorrow at 8am for housekeeping so I better get to bed and just hope to god Ill have energy tomorrow to work on the second dress :-\

we shall see.

anxiety? Gone. Dress 1? Done!

2012-03-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

The anxiety I had about my dress was quickly turned into productivity last night (or shall I say early this morning? lol) My hubby made me a yummy pastrami sandwich, I watched "the real housewives of Orange County", had a chat with my mom then went straight back into my office to finish up this dress. The food must had been what did the trick because all day I was shaky and unproductive. I wasn't even able to relax at my bi weekly Mani Pedi appointment :(.

I took the whole entire dress apart to shorten lengths and turn up the volume on the fullness of the skirt along with the shoulder.

I kept playing with the style and layout of the shoulder and waist line. At first I thought it would be OK to not wear anything but the more I looked at it the more I wanted an accessory there. I tried out the black at first while playing with the shoulder strap but I just didn't like the cross body drape.

I finally decided to take some of the left over remnants of the skirt I removed yesterday to make that waist ribbon. After spending so much time with this dress I realized that the shine didn't bother me so much but, my editor had mentioned she didn't like the shine. So maybe I am more sensitive to "creative criticism" than I thought! lol....I mean I am an artist....Words effect me greatly and that was a big source of my stress during the day.

the picture above on the right is the 95% finished dress with petty coat underneath. I might wear it without the petty coat on the day of the event. Ill see how I feel about it.

Close up of the shoulder

after I was winding down and getting ready to go to bed I read the weather report and saw that it was going to be cold with a chance of rain the day of the fashion show :( so I got my trench ready to go just incase. I really hope its sunny so I dont have to cover all the work I put into it.

Ill be organizing my office and picking up all the mess I made last night today. Hopefully I get to work on the second dress today or tonight.

an uninspired and stressfull night in the joana k offices

2012-03-13T00:53:00.001-07:00

Having too many things on my mind while trying to solve a million problems at the same time can really wear someone down.....

I have to figure out a way to take this shine off my dang dress!! I took the pink top layer off since it was the source of 80% of my headache and then gave myself a whole new headache when I discovered the black fabric underneath had the same problem with the shine!!!!!!!

I was so dissapointed that I decided to start over fresh and started makin a back up dress....

sorry for the sideways Image Im sleepy cant cant figure out how to fix it....ill figure it out tomorow.

hopefully I can get some rest tonight now that I have a back up plan.