Digging the minimalist style.

Quite a while ago, I had an idea to do a “Rude, and not ginger” patch. And like ideas do sometimes, it stuck around in my head while I tried to figure out what it should actually look like.  Eventually, I decided it needed to actually have Ten on it — but in a minimalist way that would lend itself nicely to embroidery. I was a little daunted by the idea — I’d never attempted to work from a reference photo before, and I wasn’t sure how to begin.  In the end, though, the patch worked quite well — and then I set the minimalist style aside, and forgot about it.

It wasn’t until recently, when I was inspired by the “Thor: the Dark World” trailer to make my “When Do We Start?” patch that I realized how much fun I could have with this style. It wasn’t long after this that the first trailer for “Agents of SHIELD” was unveiled, and I knew I needed to make a “Welcome to Level 7″ patch. When I mentioned it to my husband, he said, “You could always do it the same way you did the Loki patch,” and suddenly I was off.

In the midst of working on the Coulson patch, I suddenly had an epiphany. There was a quote of Tyrion Lannister’s that I’d been wanting to put on a patch for at least a year — “Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you.”  In all that time, though, how the quote should be used, and how it should look, had eluded me. Suddenly I found myself no longer blocked.

 

By the time “Star Trek Into Darkness” opened in theaters, and I found myself inspired by Sulu’s speech to John Harrison, it didn’t even require thought anymore. Of COURSE I would do a minimalist Sulu!  It was obvious!

 

At this point, I am officially in love with this style. I search the internet for a good reference image to work from, figure out where my blocks of color are and where my small amounts of detail need to be placed, and before long patches are born.  

It doesn’t mean that ALL of my patches will be done in this style, of course.  There are plenty of new ones being made every week that use a variety of styles, depending on what seems appropriate.  But I can guarantee, you’re going to see this style come up in my shop quite a bit.

 

CTRF Opening Weekend ROCKED!

If I had to summarize the opening weekend of the Connecticut Renaissance Faire’s fourth annual Robin Hood Springtime Festival, I’d say this: WOW!

The Storied Threads team (me, my assistant Kate, and my husband Mike) went down to the site in Guilford, Connecticut on Friday for final set-up and spent the afternoon trying out my new display arrangement, which traded most of the wooden shelves and poles for the gridwall I used earlier this year at Arisia. You can see the result for yourselves.

I love it! The shop feels more open, the clothing area looks more fully-stocked (which it was, since I spent the last few months cranking out stuff to sell), and the patches are spread out and visible instead of hiding on the poles (mostly).

Then came opening day, which has never been a huge sales day for me, but this year the faire had maybe its biggest opening-day crowd ever, so the numbers were in my favor, and I ended up doing pretty well.

We started Sunday off with a quickie photo shoot for two of my “Game of Thrones”-inspired knight’s surcoats, using Mike and his fellow evil guard Rick as models and the very talented Lauren Dubois as my shutterbug.

It’s a good thing we got those shots in, because I sold those two surcoats later that day…along with a TON of other stuff, such as the Thor-inspired surcoat (modeled here, impromptu, by my friend Dave, who is a lovable goof).

Yes, despite a steady day-long drizzle, the crowds were great and in a spending mood, and I surpassed my sales from Saturday by a LOT.

That left only student day, which is never a huge sales day, but the patches are a low-cost item so I tend to turn a decent profit, and that was the case this year.

When I finally sat down to crunch the numbers, I learned that I had my best CTRF spring opening weekend ever. All my expenses were met halfway through the weekend, so everything from here on out is profit…which is great news, because I’ve been spending a ton of money on materials this year.

I’ll be at CTRF for two more weekends, some please stop by and say hello!

Clark Gregg likes me! He really likes me!

Or, you know. He at least likes a thing I made, and that’s pretty much the same thing.

 

This was a brilliant thing to start my day off this morning, and a very upbeat way to head into the opening weekend of the Connecticut Renaissance Faire.

And now — back upstairs to get stock packed for the weekend!

Recycling costumes

Before I started Storied Threads, I sometimes worked as a costume designer for renaissance faires. It’s not a job I have time for anymore — Storied Threads keeps me plenty busy enough! So it’s interesting, now, to vend at a show I used to design, and see pieces I made for specific characters getting re-used in new ways.  Sometimes they’re predictable — a knight’s surcoat getting re-used, just on a different knight, for instance.  And sometimes, less so.

Taryn Kegler as Princess Guinevere and Roger Mandeville as King Arthur. Connecticut Renaissance Faire, 2007.

In 2007, I made this dress for Taryn Kegler, who was playing Princess Guinevere at the Connecticut Renaissance Faire. The entire outfit was custom made for her, with a long underdress with tight-buttoned mitten sleeves, and a shorter overdress in a rich plum velvet. I drew from both medieval sources and Pre-Raphaelite paintings as my inspirations for the gown, and Taryn wore it gorgeously.

However, that turned out to be the only year that Taryn played Guinevere, and so the gown — as all costumes do — went into the show’s stock to be re-used later. that was also the last year — for a while — that I was the designer for the show, and in 2008, the job was taken over by somebody else.

 

Jenn Rykowski, at the Connecticut Renaissance Faire, 2008.

That year, I was a vendor at CTRF for the first time, and got to see the show from more of an outsider perspective.  And I have to admit, I was surprised when I saw Jenn Rykowski wearing Guinevere’s purple dress — but as a feminine tunic for a fighter character she was playing!

It was an interesting moment for me, because I realized that I honestly would never have thought of using the dress in this way.  It was made as a part of a gown, for a member of royalty, and it was so tied to this purpose in my head that I’m sure I’d have continued to use it for that purpose, had I stayed on as costume designer.  It shows clearly how differently the same garment can be viewed by different people.

Mark Johnson as King Uriens at the Connecticut Renaissance Faire, 2005.

2005 was the first year I was the costume designer for the Connecticut Renaissance Faire. And that year, I made the first Uriens Vest — predictably, for the character of King Uriens. I wanted him to look like a medieval nobleman, but not like a knight — Uriens was not a fighting king.  So I chose to work with a lot of rich layers — a white shirt, a long tunic, and a long vest trimmed in green and gold.  It was a look that came together very well for him, and let him cut a figure as a distinguished gentleman of King Arthur’s court.  Over the next few years, the vest was used several times, always in a similar fashion — to add a finishing layer to a nobleman’s costume.

 

 

 

 

Karen Tuthill as the Mayor of Caer Leon, and Carl Canella as the Bishop of someplace I can’t remember now. Connecticut Renaissance Faire 2008.

In 2008, the vest was assigned to the actress playing the Lady Mayor of Caer Leon.  In this case, the change didn’t surprise me so much because of context — it was still being used as a finishing piece for a character of higher standing. But because it had gone from being a vest for a large man, to being worn by a small woman — and being folded and pleated to work remarkably well in that way.

It’s always interesting to me to go to the shows I used to design for, and see how pieces I made years ago are still being used in new and interesting ways. Once fine pieces that have 10 years of wear in them maybe don’t suit a noble character anymore.  Alterations taking a large item and making it fit a smaller actor, or adding trim to a plain garment to dress it up for a fancier character.  I wonder what I’ll see re-purposed interestingly at this year’s Robin Hood Faire in a few weeks?

Small details that make a big difference.

Cartoon by Twitter user @hashtag_genius

Last Tuesday, the trailer for Thor the Dark World was released. And by around noon, the internet was flooded with fan art, cartoons, and memes. Most of which ignored the first 90 seconds or so of the trailer, instead focusing entirely on the last fifteen second exchange between Thor and Loki. Which shouldn’t really come as a great surprise, considering the large fanbase that not only the characters, but also Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston have.

I’ll admit, it took me a little bit longer to get my own homage to this trailer done. It bounced around in my head for a day or so, and by Wednesday afternoon, I had an idea of what I wanted to do.  All of my Loki patches from The Avengers use either his helm or his staff as a graphic element, which seemed completely wrong for this. Besides the fact that we don’t know whether those elements will even make an appearance in this movie, they are also both symbols of power. And at this point, at least, Loki is (apparently) powerless.

Instead, I decided to use Loki himself. To create a sort of minimalist representation of him sitting in his prison cell. I envisioned it as simple blocks of color — dark brown pants, olive green shirt, black wild hair. I pulled up the trailer for the dozenth time, found a screen cap I liked to use as my point of reference and got to work.

 

First draft of the new Loki patch.

The end result was — not bad.  When I first pulled it off the embroidery machine, I was even quite happy with it and scanned it in, ready to post to Etsy the next day. But the more I looked at it, the more I realized it wasn’t quite right.  Specifically, I found myself unhappy with Loki’s shirt, which, the longer it stared at me, the more it just seemed like a big blob of undefined green.  Which, sure, was minimalist. But it just didn’t look good, and within an hour, I was unsatisfied enough to pull the file back up, and make a very minor adjustment.

The final patch, now listed on Etsy.

I decided that all the patch really needed was a detail called a carving in the shirt.  No extra colors, no extra shapes — just a tiny detail in texture to define the lines between Loki’s arms and his body. Which not only created a distinction between the parts of his body, but also give the illusion of posture, showing more clearly his slump against the wall of the patch.  Suddenly, with just that minor change, the patch went from mediocre in quality to something I was uncontrollably excited to get up on Etsy and share with the rest of the world.

It is amazing to me sometimes, how much of a difference such a small tweak can make in a design. A carving stitch. A change in font.  A color variation.  All the little things that can really put the finishing touch on a piece of art. And the willingness to listen to yourself, and not settle for a first draft.

Embroider ALL the things!

When I bought my first embroidery machine, I wasn’t entirely sure what I’d use it for. I started out embroidering some pirate sashes, and not a lot else.

And then I started making patches, especially geeky and pop culture based patches, and suddenly the embroidery aspect of Storied Threads had a direction.  I thought, what if I start putting geeky embroidery on these messenger bags I make? So I did, and they instantly became one of my top sellers.  So I began to wonder — what else could I put geeky embroidery on?

To that end, starting at the Connecticut Renaissance Faire in four weeks, we will be offering embroidery on quite a lot of things that, to this point, have not had it.  Like what, you ask? Well, let’s see.

Thor-inspired surcoat with embroidered medallions.

For starters, we’ve just finished our prototype of this Thor inspired knight’s surcoat!  It has the thunder god’s signature silver medallions, done as Celtic knotwork appliques, positioned down the front, and is made from a gorgeous, rich blue fabric. Unlike most of our surcoats, this one is even fully lined, for extra durability.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

House Stark surcoat.

If you prefer a more subtle nod to your geekery in your knight’s surcoat, we’re also planning a line of Game of Thrones inspired surcoats.  I’ve taken the sigils from my Game of Thrones patches, and re-worked them to sit on the front a surcoat so that, to the casual observer, it’s simply a piece of heraldry. To those in the know, however, you’ll clearly be a member of House Stark, Lannister, Targaryen, etcetera.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Iron Man-inspired Jasmine Jacket. Shown here over a black Althea Shirt.

And ladies, don’t worry — I certainly haven’t forgotten you!  I will have a VERY limited run of Jasmine Jackets inspired by Iron Man. They’re made of a deep red brocade and lined in gold cotton, with Tony Stark’s arc reactor embroidered on the front in glow-in-the-dark thread.  We’ll have exactly one available in each size — small, medium, and large — and when they’ve sold, they’re gone. I may be able to make similar ones later, but I bought the store out of that red brocade, and this was all they had.

 

 

 

 

Time Lord Seal belt pouch

Naturally, we’ll be offering some more accessories along this line, too.  We’ve been embroidering our regular belt pouches, and so far have some ready to go for Iron Man and Doctor Who fans.

I have so many more things in my head that I want to get made for our upcoming show. The question is one of time — how many will I get done before CTRF opens on May 18?

Creating the Althea Shirt

Althea Shirt, with leggings and sword belt.

When I first started Storied Threads, I had a very firm idea that I didn’t want to do the same kinds of things every other garb vendor was selling. I didn’t want to do chemises and bodices, because I felt like a person could get those anywhere. So instead, I focused on a lot of completer pieces — coats and vests and the like. I felt like they were more unique, and that was what I wanted for Storied Threads.

It took me quite a while to realize that while those really are great pieces, there is also value in a customer’s ability to walk into my shop, and put together a complete outfit. They may fall in love with a coat, but need to have the shirt to wear under it still — and they don’t always want to go from shop to shop to accomplish that. If I didn’t have the foundation pieces, it sometimes meant losing a sale entirely.

Althea Shirt, worn with underbust corset.

But I still wanted to have my own style to things. So when I added skirts, I made the Pick-Up Skirts, and the Clementine. And when I added a women’s shirt, I made the Bell Sleeved Blouse. I really like this blouse — I like the flare to the sleeves, the lightweight materials, and how well they work with the cut-away sleeves on a lot of my women’s jackets.  But, for whatever reason, they just didn’t sell that well.  So — it was back to the drawing board.

Althea Shirt with Jasmine Jacket, for a soft, flowing look.

So then the question was, what style of shirt would I make? I approached the design with two things in mind — uniqueness, and what did I, personally, want to wear? I aimed for something a little more traditional than the original Bell Sleeved, but there were elements of that shirt I wanted to maintain, such as the V-neck, which I prefer over a scoop neck.  I added a standing collar, which both complements that style of neck and also adds a little dramatic flair. Added a more traditional sleeve, although with rather less poof than I have in my men’s shirt, under the theory that a) it would fit better under a jacket and b) what woman wants to make herself look bigger than she really is? I also decided on a longer and more feminine hemline, giving it the option of being worn under skirts, or as an outer layer with leggings.

 

Althea Shirt with underbust corset and Jasmine Jacket, creating a complete ensemble.

The end result — the Althea Shirt!  I am delighted with how it came out, and I love its versatility.  It works by itself, with a corset, with a Jasmine Jacket, and (I suspect) in a hundred other ways that I haven’t actually tried out yet.

I hope you all like this new shirt as much as I do.  I’m hoping to have a bunch of them in stock for the Connecticut Renaissance Faire and for Mutton and Mead, and will get them up in the Etsy shop when I see what’s left after July.