|
|
I just turned off comments for all blog posts prior to 2010…as anyone with a blog knows, sifting through the hundreds of spam comments for the real ones is, well, time consuming.
So it was a bit of a trip down memory lane. I started this version of the blog about two years ago. (I’ve had various blogs and a tumblr for perhaps six years, but they’ve gone through transformations, transportations, and the original one, sadly, was destroyed. permanently. by me. note to self- always keep a backup in case you change your mind. at that time, I intentionally deleted it. goodbye forever 2004-2007.)
however, it’s also the one year anniversary, or roundabout there, of my shop on wharf street.
So, during the process of turning off comments for ~ 2 years worth of posts, I was reminded of the places I’ve been (mentally and physically) in the past couple of years.
to summarize in a few sentences the things I’ve mostly written about — (there is more to my life than these items, but I don’t write about everything :)
raw food: feel much better physically now that I’ve stopped eating raw. I’m thinking that all raw for long periods of time doesn’t work for everyone. still eat vegan.
business: sorting (continually) what sort of business I want to have. Right now preferring something with low-geographic commitments.
organization: this is just a catch-all word I use for when I’d like to understand something in a concrete sequential kind of way: i.e. take it apart, analyze the pieces, and put them into pretty boxes. characterized by quizzes, spreadsheets, databases, and other forms of linear organization. similar to languages, very calming. used with personality attributes, financial management, minimalism, thoughts & philosophies. aka RULES
language: have grown to LOVE language learning. it calms me down.
people: haven’t written much about this, but the past 5 years really have been about learning to be more discerning and discriminating regarding who I let into my life.
(ironically, I rarely write about fashion- or even think about it.)
37-A Gallery | Jeffrey Clancy
Show Opening Tonight! 6-10pm on Wharf Street
Last night, we had an interesting discussion regarding translations, particularly of the bible. My point of contention with reading the bible and trying to gain any literal meaning from it stems from the complexity of simple translations even from contemporary cultures. You have to be culturally knowledgeable to make a translation, and nobody is culturally knowledgeable about the time periods during which old texts were written.
just look at these examples:
Geist in German means both mind and/or spirit, depending on the context.
ใจ in Thai means both heart and/or mind, depending on the context.
In english, mind generally means “the part of us that does the thinking”, which most of us agree is the brain.
For example, the phrase “blessed are the poor in spirit.”
So this could be mistranslated to read:
“blessed are the poor in heart”
“blessed are the poor in mind”
“blessed are the poor in brain”
And that is just one word. I think, in this context, the correct translation for “poor” would have been humble. Even 150 years ago that was a contemporary meaning for poor, however, it’s not anymore.
Of course, I’m not a bible scholar or anything of the sort, but biblical phrases are tossed around so liberally and literally and I can’t help but think they are generally mistranslated.
how do you translate an idiom that’s two or three thousand years old from a dead culture anyway?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The other day I was watching a youtube video on making samurai swords. (rather, we were watching, that’s not a typical activity of mine alone. :) They were describing properties of the different metals, using words like hard, tensile, brittle, ductile. I had an interesting realization partway through the video: I didn’t know the word ductile before, but now I knew what it meant.
It’s very rare for me to see an english word I don’t know, apart from nouns (particularly in a technical context.) When I hear a new noun, my thought process is automatically “what does that mean” and I look it up or ask the question.
But hearing a new adjective was a different experience. I didn’t think to ask ‘what does that mean’, instead, the answers were filled in by the context. I still haven’t looked it up, but ductile, when used in the metal-smithing context by a British person, means flexible. Or more flexible than other, harder metals.
This realization was fascinating because it’s a very small clarity about how language acquisition works. I’m at the point with german that new adjectives now function the same way ‘ductile’ did for me in english- the automatic filling in of meaning from context occurs. (only there are many many more of them :) I had been worried about it in my German studies: I wondered why I thought I knew what these words meant in context, when I was pretty certain I wouldn’t even be sure whether they were adjectives or verbs outside of a sentence.
but just hearing that one new english adjective made me feel so much better. it’s just the same process for all languages.
I can’t remember what the name of this type of camo is, but I made the skirt from a real old german military jacket. I thought the pairing was ironic when I got dressed this morning
on the good ship William Hand.
In a diversion from the normal sewing tasks, Young and I got started on a project to make sleeping bags. I haven’t made any technical outdoors items before, but with some research we determined that making the bags would cost about 25% that of buying them (even though we don’t have the cost-savings benefit of buying materials in bulk.) Good sleeping bags cost around $500 retail.
The fabric, notions and zippers for each bag cost about $75 apiece.
The filling was a bit of a quandary. I started having emotional discomfort after reading a bit about the production of down (i.e. feathers). Sometimes it involves plucking live birds. yuck yuck yuck.
but down lasts a long time (up to 25 years), so we took the approach that I’ve found feels okay for leather products….buying used from ebay. In this case, it was a comforter used for display in a retail store- an item that would have retailed for $600 and was being sold for $104. Additionally, it had 40 oz of down in it, which would have cost over $250 were we to buy it from a down manufacturer.
An aside- synthetic fabrics and filling are often petroleum-based. So one could easily argue that synthetics are just as animal-unfriendly as actual animal products. One is just direct, and one indirect. Further- synthetic fillers only last a few years in sleeping bags. not very sustainable.
Down is also about twice as light and warm as synthetics per volume…and the plan is to use these sleeping bags for an extended walking trip. (Details are still forming…)
When I think about animal-based textiles, I try to keep in mind that synthetics are really not an environmentally-conscious alternative- they require extensive chemical production processes, and often have petroleum inputs. So the only environmentally responsible vegan fabric I can think of is organic cotton– NOT practical for winters anywhere.
I’m very comfortable with organic wool (sheep are domesticated creatures. have you ever seen how miserable an un-shorn sheep looks? )
Silk, while definitely not vegetarian, is relatively low-impact: it can be produced in small quantities in small factories. (silk worms are killed in the production, with the exception of peace silk - an extremely expensive product). Silk is also extremely warm- I’ve heard a tale that one of the first Everest climbers wore a custom-suit made of 7 layers of silk.
more details later.
I’m planning to rebuild my men’s line of clothing, increasing the options and color choices, and carrying a selection in store as well as online.
right now the men’s choices are minimal, and I need to make some new photos.
Considering the relatively small selection of styles for men I offer, I get a fair number of inquiries, and all are concerned with buying locally produced, organic items. This jibes with what a friend who has worked in the men’s fashion industry told me. He said guys, in general, want to know the story about their clothes (and probably, other possessions.) The story makes it more interesting, the possessions can align with their values or self-perception. or something like that.
Since I’m running a business, I look for trends. My goal isn’t to over-generalize and say “men do this, women do that..” but, my goal is to identify if more men are interested in a certain subject (such as locally made sustainable clothing) - and then market to it. And my gut feeling is that they are more interested in it, as a trend, than women- OR- there are fewer places they can buy organic clothing. (a likely possibility.)
Since I run a small business, often I use my own perceptions to make business decisions- even if I can’t prove them. Like, Portland seems less busy on tuesdays and wednesdays than sundays and mondays. I need to take two days off in a row…so which ones will I choose? The less obvious choice is mid-week, but that’s what I do, because my goal is to have shoppers visit. I’m also noticing that most people buy stuff at noon or between 5 and 630pm on weekdays. So….I’m considering a siesta.
Same with what men value in clothing vs what women value in clothing….I’ve got a store full of women’s clothes with labels that say “organic cotton” – and customers rarely comment on that fact. They talk about the cut, the fit, the details. They do talk about where it’s made and by who, but that’s probably because it’s unusual (as I’m sitting there sewing.)
so- to both men and women- what do you look for in clothing? This is my July project: redo the men’s line. Taking suggestions. I’m much less attached the the men’s line than the women’s :) so your ideas will probably be seriously considered. :-)
So, here’s the deal- sometimes I label garments as “dry clean only” — but on a personal basis, I don’t do it. I do a gentle version of spot cleaning and hand-washing. There are care label rules restricting how garments can be labeled in the US.
 this label means: machine wash cold, gentle cycle. hang dry. warm iron.  and this one means: do not wash, dry-clean, warm iron Dry cleaning means cleaning clothes using solvents (read, chemicals) other than pure water and soap.
If you are being conscious about eating organic food and buying natural body care products, it doesn’t make sense to ‘wash’ your clothing with chemicals.
This paragraph is copied from the dry cleaning entry on wikipedia:
.. By the mid-1930s, the dry cleaning industry had adopted tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene), colloquially called “perc,” as the ideal solvent. It has excellent cleaning power and is stable, nonflammable, and gentle to most garments. However, perc was also the first chemical to be classified as a carcinogen by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (a classification later withdrawn). In 1993, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) adopted an airborne toxic control measure (ATCM) to reduce perc emissions from dry cleaning operations. ..
and further on in the entry:
Perc is classified as a hazardous air contaminant by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and must be handled as a hazardous waste. To prevent it from getting into drinking water, dry cleaners that use perc must take special precautions against site contamination. Landlords are becoming increasingly reluctant to allow dry cleaners to operate in their buildings. When released into the air, perc can contribute to smog when it reacts with other volatile organic carbon substances.[2] California declared perchloroethylene a toxic chemical in 1991, and its use will become illegal in that state in 2023.[3]
Research further, and you’ll find there are alternatives to perc-based dry cleaning, one of which is called GreenEarth – a patented product that fared very well in tests to prove its cleaning ability and safety. However, even GreenEarth appears to be controversial, as one study evidenced a cancer risk in test animals. According to the company website store locator, there aren’t any affiliates near the Portland, Maine area.
Here’s what I do: pour gentle detergent directly on any spot. let soak overnight. wash with water the next day in sink. hang dry, or dry flat (on a towel) if particularly delicate. I don’t wash ‘dry-clean-only’ clothing articles at all unless they have real spots or odors. Most odors (like, say, campfire smoke or food odors) can be removed by hanging a garment outside or putting it in the freezer (yup, the freezer.)
For regular clothes- cotton shirts, dresses, and skirts, just a gentle machine wash and hang to dry.
by the way- here are explanations of what all the clothing care symbols mean.
As stated here before, I love reading blogs about minimal living, online businesses and nomadic lifestyles. Why are these writers primarily men?
the intersection between minimal living, online business, and nomadism is pretty clear- it’s reasonable to figure out how to support oneself in a simple lifestyle through an online business. If the business relies purely on electronic, not physical products/ services to generate cash, then it’s practical to live anywhere or travel a lot. So, if one lives a minimal lifestyle- which obviously costs less and is more sustainable in both the green and the financial sense- then you’ve got a plan.
Here are the ones I read occasionally- not all are actually in my feed reader, some just prove the point:
ridiculously extraordinary
far beyond the stars
zen habits
tynan
the art of non-conformity
tim ferris
exile lifestyle
project mojave
lifestyle design project
I could keep compiling the list, but the point is made. I haven’t found a woman who is writing about the intersection of these topics. I’m sure there are, my point is only that I haven’t found her, and I’ve been following this type of conversation for a couple years.
One thing about these blogs- they are somewhat formulaic. That’s not a broad criticism, but an observation. The writers mostly follow a pattern of blogging (i.e. write about x on tuesdays and y on fridays), they mostly make money through affiliate links and by selling e-books or, as popularly described, ‘manifestos.’ they frequently write guest posts on each others blogs, so it’s easy to think they are all crazy-web-famous, but you’ll start to realize you’re just reading in one pool of friends, and if you skip to the next pool…it’s a new set of co-linkers. again, nothing wrong with this, just some perspective.
So what is it that draws men to write about this stuff? or, frees them up more? are men more comfortable taking the risk? is this part of the age-old thing about sowing wild oats?- clearly, nomadism doesn’t lend itself to stable relationships (though some of the authors above are married.) most of the men I know are fairly obsessed with survivalism and what life will be like post-apocalypse. is this related? (or is that just the men I know?)
are women more attached to stuff? is it because women are less comfortable with technology? (most online businesses rely on having decent html/css skills, at least.) do women just blog less?
There are some really great things about running a store- I get to see customers trying on clothes, understand what looks good on what type of body, and I can usually guess by a glance what size will work.
I also see how clothes can be difficult to fit if someone is particularly tall or short, broad-shouldered or narrow-shouldered, has a tummy, pregnant, very skinny, or very overweight.
Here’s how it works, from a designer’s perspective: your clothes will fit best on someone who has a figure similar to your fit model, and the further you deviate from that model, the less well they will look. There’s a range of about 10 circumference inches that my clothes will definitely look good on. so, bust sizes of 32″ -42″ will work, any further and we need adjustments or custom sizing.
additionally, it’s more difficult to fit people who are overweight. My best explanation for this is because people tend to be thin in the same way- i.e. closer to the basic shape of the skeleton. Please don’t imagine that I’m designing for skeletal models- I carefully avoid working with models who are underweight. And I use myself as a fit model- I wear a medium. But, the basic shape of the skeleton is pretty predictable.
however, someone who is overweight can have very different horizontal proportions- i.e., their bottom can be much larger than their top, or their stomach can be bigger than their bottom, etc. It’s not as predictable.
(I’ve never had to fit a body builder, but I can imagine it would require extra work if the dress, jacket, or shirt had sleeves and shoulders.)
I always try to clearly define what body measurements a size will fit best- i.e. a medium will fit best if you are 36″ bust, 27.5″ waist, 37.5″ hip. If you deviate more than 1″ from those measurements in any place a tailored garment is cut close, it won’t work. Working with stretchy fabrics, such as the organic cotton jersey, gives a lot more leeway, and, frankly, items sell better because stretch is more comfortable and more forgiving.
 I do make size XL: 42" 32" 43" there are studys I’ve read, evidencing how thinner people buy more clothing. (can’t remember the link.) However, the question, of course, is do thinner people buy more clothing because sellers offer more interesting clothing for the smaller sizes? or do they buy more because they are more confident with their bodies and enjoy the buying process?
(I hate buying clothing, which is why I make it. And when I do buy jeans, I just buy cheap ones so I don’t have to try them on. dealing with sizing, from a buyer’s vantage point, makes me miserable. If size charts were offered, and the clothing adhered to those sizes, it would be so much easier. )
finally, regarding custom work. I get the question a lot, because many people who walk into my store think I work as a tailor or seamstress, rather than a designer. Generally speaking, the market in maine won’t bear the price of doing custom work in much quantity. I’m not desperate for work (i.e. income), so it’s a better business decision for me to spend my time focusing on my design vision. I have, at times, made custom sizes of my designs for customers who are larger than my size range. I try to steer them towards styles that are simple cuts in stretchy fabrics, since I don’t actually charge more for the service. however, I won’t do complicated cuts in custom sizes, primarily because I don’t like to charge by the hour and I’m not comfortable quoting the price that would make it worth it to me.
an example- a dress that retails for $200 in a standard size, might realistically be priced at $1000 for a custom size, depending on the person’s body. this is because:
- I have no way of fitting the garment without having the customer in the room. I can’t exactly have a dressform custom-made for each customer (though that is how couture houses do it. however, they can charge $40k for a suit. and I can start to see how they calculate that number.)
- without a dressform that matches the size, I have to pattern-make, not drape. with pattern making, it’s more difficult to account for all the potential variations of body a person might have. So it requires careful measuring and fitting…multiple fittings.
- finally, with my personality, I can’t stand working on someone else’s schedule, so the idea of working with a customer in the room, waiting for me to tear apart muslin #1 to make muslin #2 makes my jaw clench. too stressful.
So, as said above, my fit model is my own body, and I’m a medium in the size chart above. my size chart is pretty similar to most other designers in my price range. Grading is the process of making smaller and larger patterns from your starting sample pattern. Given the comfortable 10″ circumference range for grading, it’s tough for me to make larger sizes without a larger fit model. And I’m not comfortable in the maine economy quoting the price at which it would be worth it to me to make custom sizes for larger women.
I am surprised there aren’t more larger designers actively focusing on fitting larger sizes, honestly, because regardless of the study mentioned above, it’s a definite that larger people buy clothes and look for interesting clothes in their size.
I’ve often said that it’s very difficult or impossible for most chefs to make decent vegan food unless they’ve tried living as a vegan (well, based on my experience asking for vegan meals at mid-range restaurants. the really expensive ones do know how to, in most cases.) Similarly, it’s difficult for me to design clothes properly for plus-sizes.
|
|