Last year, I told you about an invite I received to make a dress that will be put in an art exhibit from October 2019 through February 2020.
Destined By Design: A Celebration Of African American Fashion was the name of the exhibit. How could I say no? It was one of my first times making a dress that was for special occasions. And it was definitely the first time I ever had something that I created in an art display. It was such an honor!
If you didn’t get a chance to visit, you truly missed out. The talent made by other black dress and jewelry designers was amazing. Here is a look back at the process of making the dress and how it turned out.
Sourcing the fabric
First time making a corset, so had to use part of a pattern for help!
Making a corset
Dropping off the dress at the Texan Cultures Institute
Family coming out to show support!
The dress on display
My name on display!
Thanks to the curator who invited me to put a dress on display along with family, friends, and everyone who came out to check it out! It means the world!!
I was thinking about having a contest to give the dress away to one lucky winner. What are your thoughts on that and the dress?? Let me know in the comments…
Dreamweek 2020 is happening this month from January 10th to January 25th. And I’m excited to announce that I will be participating in it this year!
Celebrating its 8th year, Dreamweek has been quite successful. The idea behind Dreamweek is…Exchanging Ideas, Inspiring Discussion, Revealing The Genius.
This two week long event produces more than 200 Civic & Civil Engagements In & Around Downtown San Antonio.
You can catch me at one of these events on the panels at the Destined By Design: A Celebration Of African American Fashion event where we will be talking all things fashion and design.
The Q&A panel will start at 12pm and will be held at:
UTSA Institute Of Texan Cultures
801 E César Chávez Blvd
San Antonio, Tx
This will only be my second time on a panel so wish me luck! Plus, there will be so many opportunities and events for you to learn from other creatives and entrepreneurs. Come network and get inspired. You can head over the Dreamweek.org and you will get details on all of the upcoming events!
A few months back, I received an email that left me stunned…
It read (in part)
“I am curating an exhibit at the Institute of Texan Cultures (A Smithsonian Affiliate museum) to feature Black designers. I am looking for original designs that can be put on display. That can be clothing, shoes, accessories doesn’t matter just as long as it is an original design by a Black designer from or in Texas.”
YES!!!!! Was my answer before I got to the part where she asked if I was interested.
She went on to say it will be on display in September. She also said a sketch of the item will be needed for approval.
I couldn’t believe she asked me. It was such a big deal. I had to knock it out of the park.
I knew exactly what fabric I wanted to use for the dress. It had a unique pleated design that I’d been eyeing for a very, long time.Plus, it came in the PERFECT shade of blue.
I whipped up a sketch of my dress idea and sent it to her by email. Providing all of the fabric details (of course!)
She loved the idea!
“What will the dress be made of?” – she asked.
“Pleated chiffon.” I proudlyanswered.
So, it was set! I wouldbe making a dress to be displayed in a museum for all to see. Plus, I was asked in May, the display wasn’tuntilSeptember so I had plenty of time! Right??
Wrong!
I received a followup email in June asking about the status of the dress. I had the sketch and knew whereIgoing to buy the fabric from. That was about it.
Why is she asking so early was my first thought.Instead, I told her about my progress or lack of.
“Can you have it don’t by July 20th?” was her reply.
“Sure!” I answered. But I was sweating bullets. Then, I felt puke at the back of my throat.I thoughtI had a good 4 weeks!
The weeklong family vacation that was already planned and paid for left me with only 1 week to make this dress!!!
Could I do it?? I knew I work good underpressure but this type of pressure was too much! It is too soon in my sewing career to think making this dress was going to be a piece of cake. Something ALWAYS goes wrong. Always.
And it did! First up, I found out that the fabric couldn’t get to me in time. I needed this fabric!! What was I going to do??
Make it happen! That’s what. And that what I did.
After a week of sleepless nights filled with looking for new fabric and sewing; the dress was safelydropped off to a coordinator at the Texas Cultures Institute in San Antonio, Tx.
The design is a bit different from the sketch.Especially since I had to change the fabric. But I love it so much! Stay tuned to find out how the dress turned out and how you can go check it out in person.
Thoughts?? Let me knowsomethingspecial you have going on right now in the comments…
Happy Monday!Firstly, apologies to you!There is a new post here on every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of each week like clockwork.However, there weren’t any posts last week.Its been a whole week since there has been a post on FNF.I know how it can be when you get used to something and then things just…change.Sorry for that.Allow me to explain…
A couple of weeks ago, the announcement was made that Fashion Not Fear will be in the upcoming SPIRIT Fashion Show that is held at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh on April 6th.Since that announcement dropped, things have gotten REAL!
My lineup consists of 9 models that range in a sizes from Xs to XXL.Each style has to be imagined, sketched, pattern made and/or found, fabric sourced and cut, sewn, re-sewn (in some cases).Its alot for one person.But no complaints from me…because I LOVE this shit!
Anyway, the before mentioned steps have to be done 9 times for this show.Well, actually 8 times.There will be a two piece set that was previously dropped that you will see in the show.It just went with the theme so well that it was hard to leave it out.
Needless to say, I have been working non-stop for the past few weeks.I’m surprised that I found the time to write this.I just thought y’all needed to know the tea.
In addition to all of this, Blue Labels Boutique will be popping up this weekend.Saturday, you can come shop at the Night Lights Event in San Antonio.You can check out their website for ticket information.Hope to see you there!
Now, that you are fully informed, I’m headed back to the sewing machine.Almost at the finish line!Any guesses on which skirt set will be in the show??Let me know in the comments…
As you know we had a pop up shop for 8 days at The Shops At La Cantera in San Antonio, Tx. The first four days was from April 20th to 23th. I went over all the details week one here. Now, take a look at how the final days went…
It all started like it did like it does every show, with my fiancé and I loading all of the merchandise, racks, tents, etc from the parking lot to our spot. From there it takes about an 1-2 hours to neatly hang everything and place all accessories in its’ proper place.
You never know what to expect at these events. That’s why it’s always important to bring your patience. I love to talk and have no problems with keeping myself busy. Although, at least once a day, I send out a help! signal because I am in desperate need of a potty break or snack.
It also helps that other small businesses had pop up at the event. Lucky for me, one of them just happen to sell wine. A girl has to stay entertained… 🍷
Additionally, my girl, Manni, was there in a BLB ‘fit.
I also had the pleasure of meeting so many new bombshells! Corresponding with people through social media and email is one thing but in-person is a whole ‘other level. Who knew that I would be asking questions from what to a wedding to how to make your boobs look good in a spaghetti strap dressed. I am telling you…these pop ups make me feel like I am in fashion heaven!
📸 – shared on IG @springmarket featuring a San Antonio Beauty Queen
On Saturday night, I was at dinner and it was ruined once I noticed how fast the trees outside the window were swaying. Not this again. If you read last weeks’ post them you will know that wind is not my friend. The only thing that I could think about during the entire dinner, “can the canopy withstand that type wind?” I mean, it’s a nice canopy but that doesn’t mean that it was sturdy. I worried and thought about it so much that we decided to take a trip back to the shop to make sure things were okay. And Thank God we did! The canopy was on three legs and clothing racks were making a trip down the sidewalk!
Other than the uncontrollable acts of God, the pop up was a complete success. Thanks to everyone came out to shop, chat, look around or simply take a card. I truly appreciate it! And to those of you who are not in the San Antonio area, no worries, we might be coming through your part of the map. Be sure to follow us so that you can come get your dose of fearlessness when we are in your town!
What city should we pop up in? Let me know in the comments…
I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend filled with doing all of the things that make your heart happy! After all, isn’t that what the weekends are for, after the hustle you put in throughout the week?
I am happy too say that my weekend was certainly filled with one of the things that make my heart happy. Last week, we announced that we would be participating in The Spring Market held at The Shops At La Cantera in San Antonio, Tx. The event is for 8 days. Opening day was Thursday through Sunday (yesterday). Here is how the first weekend went.
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, setting up a pop up shop is no easy task. It involves checking inventory, sourcing new pieces, pricing, hanging, setting up a canopy and much more. The planning for the event starts waaay before the event actually begins. In order to save time, I try to do as much pre-work as possible, that way, I won’t be a hot & sweaty mess before the event actually begins. Which is why I stayed up to the wee hours of the morning last Wednesday doing last minute things like putting together clothing racks and testing out my idea of a pop up dressing room. But I’ll get back to that in a minute.
Upon arrival on Thursday morning, my fiancé and I loaded everything on the back of my dads truck and drove (through San Antonio morning traffic 🙀) to The Shops At La Cantera. We found the designated space and proceeded to unload boxes, racks, etc and carry them from the parking lot to our space. So much for not being a sweaty mess.
About 2 hours later, BLB was set up and ready to go! The only one thing missing was the dressing room. After 6 clothing racks and a 6 foot long table, there was no room left in the 10×10 space for this…
Oh well, maybe next time. The show must go on, so lets do this!
Any day that I can connect with people and introduce them to Blue Labels Boutique, is what I would consider a successful day. I certainly got a chance to meet new people who who adore unique dresses and accessories as much as I do!
IG Pic @arleen_popup_queen
During the weekend, I happily answered lots of questions, “Where do you get the clothes from?”, “What size would you recommend?”, “How often do you get new stuff?” But one of the most frequent questions asked was, “Is this a purse?”
“Yes…yes it is.” I would answer.
On Thursday & Friday the weather was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! But on Saturday, things changed. The temp dropped to 60 and it was super windy! My canopy kept taking flight and I almost passed out every single time. I spent alot of time holding it with one hand or praying to God that it landed on its feet. (Note to self: put sandbags on all four legs and not just the back two). Not to mention the fact that the wind almost knocked a clothing rack right onto a customer! Thank goodness she had quick hands and didn’t get hurt. Needless to say, I was horrified. 🙀 (Sorry again ma’am, if you’re reading this.)
The connections I made were immeasurable. For instance, on my first day I met a women who worked at a department store in the area. She bought a dress however, she had to return it the next day because it didn’t fit. I processed her refund and she left but, she came back shortly to give me a Starbucks coffee. “Thanks but you didn’t have to do that!” I said with surprise. Her reply was, “I know, I’m doing it as a blessing.” It’s so nice to be reminded that there are still really nice and thoughtful people left in the world.
So, that was the first weekend in a nutshell. It was quite the adventure. Thanks to everyone who came out to shop with me! Don’t forget that you still have time to shop with the pop up this weekend. Come out to The Shops At La Cantera in San Antonio from Thursday (4/27) to Sunday (4/30) from 10a-6pm!
Celebrating its 8th year, Dreamweek has been quite successful. The idea behind Dreamweek is…Exchanging Ideas, Inspiring Discussion, Revealing The Genius.
