New ideas and new projects.

So its midweek and I am trying to get some balance in my work at the studio.

I am working simultaneously on few projects at at time.

A new oil painting in a series of reflections, new 12" doll repaints, a watercolor ornament inspired by Arabian illuminated manuscripts and new fashions for the 16" dolls.

I started collecting images and ideas on my board and assigned some fabrics to go with those design ideas, when I saw the Chanel pre fall 2017 2018 fashion show and got many new ideas.

I like to see what Chanel is up to. I find Karl Lagerfeld's collections for Chanel very inspiring. I see in his work a trend for using interesting fabrics while keeping a simple silhouette and design motifs that seems simple yet are very elegant and sophisticated. He does not resort to cheap tricks to get his ideas across.

I like that and find that it gives me a starting point to design my collections.

I prefer to work on a group of outfits, even if its only five, it allows me to develop an idea instead of just doing one design and move on to a new one.

I run the show on my laptop, stop whenever I see something that interest me, and sketch it in my sketch book. I also write notes with suggestions for fabrics or design elements that need attention.

So the new group will consist of mostly knits. Bulky tops with leggings, some pants and blouses, organza tops and bottoms. The whole look is very nautical with sailor collar and buttons in the front of the pants like sailor's pants.

I tens to use expensive fabrics as a whole.

Silk dupioni, silk chins and silk organza as well as linens. The reason is that these fabrics are for the most part of better quality and are better dyed than some cheap fabrics.

It makes a difference for the dolls for color fastness. Cheap and some synthetic fabrics will stain the dolls. I had once a friend send me some stretchy mesh, and it took about an hour to stain the doll. I kid you not. I could not believe it.

I do have some stretchy lace in black that I have now on a doll for couple of years and it never stained her. Just to be sure I just checked it out, and yes, no staining. I did not want to end up looking like a fool. So now we can go on.

So with relatively pricey fabrics and tailoring that take time, my outfits tend to be a bit pricey. I think that my fashion is compatible with other doll's fashion that is out there, but I non the less, I decided to make this line a bit cheaper price wise without sacrificing the design or the quality of the garments.