little dresses

So it seems that having a daughter breeds sewing-of-cute-dresses, so I've made a few over the past two and a half years. For one baby dress I used a lovely super-soft Japanese fabric with many cute animals, combined with a silky polka-dot that had begun as a skirt of mine, then been transformed into pillow cases, and finally presented itself as a complementary fabric.

 Once I cut up an old sweatshirt and turned it into a dress for both Magnolia and her doll Susie too.

 

Some that Magnolia hasn't worn now need to find homes, and two are for sale in the Curious Urchin shop.  One for a baby, another for a toddler, both featuring beautiful Dwell fabrics.

 

 

 This next piece was a gift for another baby, an experiment with two fabrics that I loved:

 

 Now, I'm off to deal with this insane pile of fabric that I keep saying I am going to use!

Fall Handmade Cavalcade

I will be selling jewelry and handcrafted objects for baby at the Fall Handmade Cavalcade in this September 12, from 11 to 7, in the Beacon Bookmarks' Barn at the corner of Main St. and North Cedar in Beacon, NY. This is a {NewNew} event featuring over twenty Etsy sellers from NYC and the Hudson Valley. If you can't be there, perhaps you have a friend in the area who would like to come? It's going to be a great show!

designer of the month: the extended interview

Look who's designer of the month at Brooklyn Indie Market! Could this be the youngest indie designer ever? Well, lookie here: I just so happen to have an extended interview on hand, and I thought I would post it for any of you out there who were interested in my daughter's creative endeavors. Here it is!:


Magnolia of CURIOUS URCHIN

Tell us a bit about yourself name, location, affiliations, personal stuff.
I’m basically an unwieldy, very chubby yet tall-for-my-age minor, with a whopping 6 months on the planet under my belt.

Apart from creating things, what do you do?
Pee, poop, sleep, laugh, grumble, raise my eyebrows, smile, whimper, moan, execute blood curling screams, semi-crawl, backwards scoot, half-way sit, shake rattles, eat every surface in range, eat peas and carrots, drink Mommy’s milk, sweat to the Oldies (nah, I really prefer Post-Rock), kick my left leg over and over, do power salutes, grow my fingernails out, flirt with strangers, stare at strangers, scratch at the floorboards and fabric patterns, pound on surfaces, scream for joy without letting up, especially from 6-7am.

What first made you want to become an artist?
What’s an artist? My mommy and daddy are kind of crazy, is that what artist means? I was born in a minor snowstorm, under a full moon--do those things make me an artist?


Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.
I’m a sewing prodigy--basically I’ve been sewing since I was in the womb. I like the machine and all, but mostly I like to sew edges with my pudgy yet elegant fingers. Hand-sewing, that’s what I like. There’s something therapeutic about the repetitive nature of sewing….and eating, plush fabric edges. My inspiration comes from the sweet and beautiful animals, plants, colors and shapes that grow inside cotton fabrics. Especially the ones that come from Japan. I don’t really know what Japan is but it must be a wonderful place if it looks anything like the fabric that comes from there.


What handmade possession do you most cherish?
My first Curious Urchin teether--it's shaped like a puffy flowery star. I like to suck on it until I soak it with my cute baby spit. Then I move on to the next object or surface and put it in my mouth. But I always come back to the Curious Urchin teethers, for some reason. Made at home makes a difference, I guess. I also enjoy handmade and natural/fabric/wood creations from Little Alloutte, Babus, Acorn Toy Shop, Under the Nile (the veggies!), Haba, and Melissa and Doug's wooden toys. My other favorite thing is my mobile! I made one and it kept me entertained for months, so I decided to make more and more, for other babies. They are so fun, cause you can mix and match the shapes, so no two are alike!


What advice would you give to artists new to BIM?
When I’m at BIM the only way to go is to roll with Auntie Kathy. She takes me around to meet the peeps (by the way, I love Peeps, Marshmallow Peeps, even though I can’t eat them yet), by carrying me or pushing my stroller. So my advice for all of you who may never have done BIM: Get in good with Auntie Kathy!

In ten years I’d like to be…
An actor in Little Creatures films. My mommy and daddy don’t know that I want to be this . . . so I’ll have to be sneaky about it.

PS:
I got tired of dictating to my secretary, so here’s a parting word of advice to all you designer people out there:
B v hh j bzz m f b xc 888nm nh ,hnh j uikns sbvyv n nwx bv b

curious urchin :: fabric art

I have been smitten by the fabric collage bug, which flew into my window when I gave birth to Magnoliagirl. Currently, whether I like it or not, my hands must be kept busy at all times sewing shapes and colors and patterns to each other. I am inspired to the point of obsession by the thousands of possibilities when it comes to printed designs on cotton fabric. I love using miniature printed trees, creatures, flowers, suns, stars, as starting points, cutting out around their inked outlines and re-arranging them, intermarrying them, many fabric origins all in one carefully-crafted pattern of my own, a completely original wall hanging that longs for a child to gaze upon it for years to come. These pieces are available for sale at my new Etsy shop, Curious Urchin. Hope you can visit, especially if you're looking for mobiles or teethers for the 2-8 month-old set.