Beach Bags

We all need a good shopper in our lives, problem is the only ones available are freebies from the magazines, cheap nylon or far too expensive for something which is simply trashed in the bottom of your hand bag ready to be used.

I have sourced ethical 100% cotton shoppers (with a percentage is donated to charity) and decorated them with fully washable fabric paint. I have loved doing these! I've made stencils, painted and used all forms of application to create these lovley little bits.

At 41cm by 38 cm they aren't small but still perfectly flexible for you to stuff in another bag, use as a beach hold all or carrying your shopping home in.

I'll be selling these at €25 plus postage.

There will be more.....once I find some more inspiration.

It's been a while since my last blog and the cloud of guilt has been hanging over me the whole time. However there is a lot to report. Here is one of my new ventures (or so i thought)

The initial idea was to buy second hand curtains/fabric at a reasonable price from Charity Shops and make something beautiful and useful (as well as clearing out some of the rubbish from the shops out here....they'll sell anything)

This creation was made out of a single curtain (there was no partner to it!) and an out of date (never to go back in style) Miss sixty denim skirt.

Pattern was made (not my strong point), iron was bought, webbing sourced and sewing machine borrowed.

Now I love making things but if I am to make a living (or even some cash) this has got to be the most time consuming project and I'll have to charge at least €50 a bag......not market stall prices.

So, on ward and upward, I've given it a try, quenched the thirst and satisfied those asking to see it.

Next project is to customise as I always intended.

Mad as a Hatter

This little project led me to throw a couple of tantrums. I made it, unpicked it, made it and unpicked it about 4 times. This is the final result and it was well worth the time. As many creatives are aware you're continuously questioning yourself and comparing yourself to others, and I wanted to make it look professional, fashionable and inspirational. I did my research and this was one of those "well what's out there that's better" I can safely say nothing!! Everyone else has flowers, feathers, ready made badges or traditional styling, I hope this ties in all the above with a twist of youth.

What do you think?

I hope this is the first of many and with a promise of another business opportunity, I'm sure it will be.

I'll be wearing this at Dave and Sarah's wedding this weekend. More fun, merriment and celebrations to be had with dear friends that we will never see enough of.

Lace

My fascination with Lace and crochet has been a large factor in the inspiration in much of my work. Going back to the lace shoes for Bertie in A/W 07.

As a kid I used to route through my mum's bits 'n' bobs draws filled with ribbons, vintage lace and buttons, much to her dismay when she found them attached to hand made cards. But I loved the texture and craftsmanship involved.

I customised a basic H&M T-shirt with this beautiful crochet neck that I found in a haberdashery. I really wished I'd bought more of them, as they'd look great on the Nude vests and tops coming through for S/S.

I'm planning on running with this idea, keep posted with other forms of lace duplication for bags and accessories.

Now that we are reaching the end of the Awards season, we've viewed all the frocks, hair, bags and shoes to give us the green eyed monster. I feel the need to mention a select few which inspired a bit of creativity and began a thought process for a few ideas for customising accessories for a special occasion.

Sandra Bullock touched on two key trends of nudes and lace trimming, also seen on Lady Ga Ga at the Baftas. There is a lot of this lace or crochet applique in the shops at the moment, it's a great way to prettify a basic fashion pieces like T-shirts and shoes.

Saoirse Ronan is only 15 but her dress from Prada was a perfect example of the frills seen on many dresses at the awards. these would be great on the vamp or side quarters in satin or crepe ribbons. I really love the contrast of harsh metallic accessories, edging up the outfit.

The 3rd picture is of the new highly acclaimed actress from Precious. She looks great in her bright blue, the idea of glamourous lace applications to areas really inspired me. I've been playing with ideas like this already but might follow this through and try to find some lace pieces I can apply a bit of bling to.

I have Dave and Sarah's wedding at the end of this month so a visit to Preston Market is in order for a few bits and pieces.

Watch this space......

My first pair of customised shoes were put to the test this weekend. I finished Kelly's shoes with plenty of time to send (although I was paranoid that they wouldn't arrive in time) I was really pleased with the end result. It has to be said that Kelly looked amazing and her shoes we're a fine detail to the ensemble.

We had a great time catching up and partying with friends, so much so I forgot to take a picture of Kelly with her shoes on, so watch this space for more. (Thanks to Suzie for suppling excellent compositions and leaving out the worst ones from FB ) In the mean time you can see the finished piece and I'll be posting the the details and process we worked on. Once I get the hang of this.

My fascinator went down really well with many comments and complements. I felt great and so pleased I made the effort. My outfit cost the total of £10.50!

Thanks for a great day everyone, it was so lovely to see you all.

Next wedding, 27th March for Dave and Sarah.........what to wear.....what to make......what to customise?

So with 3 days to go I have finished the fascinator!

I really love it and it was sooooo simple to do, bit of fabric glue, scissors, needle and tread for securing and satin ribbon to hide the ends.

Now I have to try and sort out the dress and coat to wear on a snowy winter wedding!!

If any of you are interested in buying the kit or even a fascinator ready made for your occasion contact me and I'll send you more details.

size_7@hotmail.com

Fascinator

Hello again,

Time for an update with a little something extra. Here are my materials for the fascinator I am to make for myself for Chris & Kelly's wedding.

As I've mentioned before I have 5 very special weddings to go to this year, each one filled with great friends and bound to be packed with catching up, laughing and dancing. My challenge, not only to customise my brides shoes and accessories, is to find suitable outfits for each and feel 100% on a tenth of the budget I used to have.

The time has come where I have to practice what I preach and create something beautiful for myself. Hopefully this will lead to more people coming to me for their own unique pieces.

I am using peacock feathers to tap into the last of the A/W colours and brighten up a black dress (eek). I love the midnight blue, purple and greens that have come through this past season, so I'm using a combination of them all.

So I have my fabric glue a needle and thread and I have begun to plan. Stay tuned for the final piece.

Customising your shoes

So here is a little more about what I have been doing.

As 2010 is the year for my very best of friends to get married I was a little stuck as to what I could do for a gift and how I might contribute now that I live in Mallorca.

With my experience of footwear in design, retail, and trend I soon realised that my lovely friends were going to find it difficult to find fashionable, interesting bridal shoes that suited their age and style without spending a fortune on designer labels or going to dodgy department stores.

This brain wave enabled me to pull together my expertise along side the need of a gift (be it for the bride only). Then perhaps spread the word.

If my friends could find a lovely but basic shoe, that they knew fitted and did "the job" I could make it extra special by customising and making it unique and wedding suitable. So here is a picture of Emily's shoe with the embellishment designs I proposed to her.

Emily sent me the shoes, images of "the" dress and the accessories that she had in mind and I went shopping for trims.

I sent her a few options of embellishment designs with a mix of placement and trims and she choose the perfect piece.

I'm pleased to say she now wants me to do all her accessories! Bag and head pieces.

Hi All,

So this is my first blog!

As I am new to this I have amass of expectations, ambitions, desires and creative juices that I hope this blog will curb.

First of all let me introduce myself. I am a footwear and accessory designer, trained in the UK and with 6 years of retail experience at retailers such as Next, Marks and Spencer, New Look, Designers at Debenhams, Principles, Pied a Terre, Bertie, Nine West .............. I love my job!

Designing and developing product is something I love to do, at every stage I learn, develop and create something that others enjoy. Other than making chocolate I don't know what can compare.

I want this blog to ultimately reach out to those that want to use my services; as a freelance designer or to build interest and custom for my brand new project Customising Shoes and Accessories, I hope size 7even will accomplish this.

I will be updating you with new trends, events and images. To you appeal to you individuals who desire a unique fashion item for fun or a special occasion.

Enjoy, admire, create and get in touch.

size_7@hotmail.com