Fall Catalogue

For about two months I secretly worked on a new clothing line. What this line consists of is UP-cycled, carefully selected, quality vests, dresses, blouses, and jackets. After selection, each piece was hand dyed, hand stamped, or both in my home studio. This fall style is very much inspired by bohemian beauties, global patterns, and of course Norfolk, Va. I had the fortunate experience of debuting Impressed Apparel at the wonderful new With Lavender and Lace boutique. The owner, and my amazing friend, Kelsie McNair graciously let me borrow some of her vintage pieces to mix with the collection for this photo shoot. 

 For this post I had the pleasure of shooting a lovely friend of mine Elisa Nyassom. (She is a photographer, check out her stuff.) Also, super cute Shannon McMillen joined the shoot! Thank you very much girls! <3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perfectly Imperfect: An Interview by and of the Designer Behind Impressed Crafts

How did I get into stamping?

After graduating from college is when I seriously started stamping. In school I knew I wanted to be a studio art major, but I was frustrated by figuring out what I wanted to do after school. I gave up art for some time and I focused my energy on someone else’s project. One day I went to a bookstore by myself and browsed the craft section. A very beautiful book on handmade prints caught my attention. I bought it, devoured it, and didn’t put it away for many days after. I soaked in the images, instructions, and aesthetic. (I might or might not have gotten teary eyed.) Most importantly, the book reinvigorated my long standing passion for making things. Since I was a young child I always enjoyed using my hands to create, and in the end I may never be a prolific, profound, Avant-garde artist, but I will always be a hand crafter.

 Where does my inspiration for new stamps come from?

One very important skill I worked hard on while being a studio artist is how to focus inspiration. That doesn’t mean I always have ideas flowing out of me. I learned that it is important to be patient during the times when it seems like inspiration, my muse, is nowhere to be found. In contrast, I have come up with ways to extract inspiration from many sources. For me, inspiration comes from people I know, music, catalogues and magazines, other bloggers, being in nature, and my dreams. For the most part, finding what inspires you can be easy. Transforming those ideas into tangible works is where the true labor comes into play. 

What is the appeal of stamps?

Imperfection! Stamping is one craft that embraces fades and broken edges. There is a natural look that hand stamping can evoke. The artist’s hand is evident as opposed to the look of industrial prints. What also attracted me to stamps is how quickly I can take an idea out of my mind or sketch book and translate it to tangible objects. I feel like I have only scraped the surface of what can be done using inks and stamps.  

Best advice for dealing with imperfection?

When I am in my studio I sincerely try not to get hung up on trying to create something that is perfect. I embrace the tiny specks of ink that sometimes show up on a printed surface. It may be that I missed fully cleaning a corner on a stamp before it is pressed, or I may not have applied even amounts of pressure to a stamp and part of the design is more faded than the rest. But sometimes that is exactly the look I am going for. It is the same kind of beauty I see in a distressed coffee table, a vintage leather bag, or the surface of pine tree bark.

 In many ways I relate personally to the stamp process. I am learning every day to embrace my imperfections. I have the daily decision to be caught up on what makes me imperfect, or I can enjoy the uniqueness that comes along with being an imperfect human. My challenge to you is to embrace your imperfections too.

-Angel Graves

Why Vintage?

My latest musings and thoughts have been set towards vintage clothing. Why do I dress the way that I do? What is the true appeal of vintage and pre-owned goodies? After asking myself these questions, I came up with a few illustrated answers I think are worth sharing.

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{This top was a thrift store find. It is a smooth silk and judging by the construction it was hand made. A huge bonus to it's handmade quality, it fits like it was made for my body measurements!}

Vintage styling can be an expression that says "Hey! I'm not so down with main stream culture!" In a way it is a rebellion against status quo. I am not completely dissing contemporary fashion and style, I am merely expressing my freedom of choice. Mixing vintage with modern is a great way to have a very full and rich wardrobe.  

{This dreamy mint colored sun dress is another thrift store find. My heart jumped a little when I saw it. I also squealed with joy when it fit perfectly.}

By wearing vintage I am paying tribute to women I look up to. Women such as my grandmothers, mother, and aunts. These are people who worked hard and looked great doing it! I was raised by my mother to take pride in how I dressed. A person's impression of another is strongly based on looks. Why not put your best foot forward? There is a certain great feeling that comes with dressing well.

 {This funky beauty was a generous gift from Kelsie McNair, owner of the vintage boutique With Lavender and Lace in Norfolk, VA. Check out the facebook and give it some likes :-) Thanx Babe!}

On a more material level, I feel like I am rescuing and reusing something that is a quality made item. If it can last as long as it has, it was made right the first time. Some people may have qualms with used clothing but once laundered or tailored most clothes can be good as new.

{I scored these lovely shoes at an antique store in Richmond. Having a size 9 & 1/2 can prove to be a challenge in the shoe world. When I do find great shoes in my size I almost always buy them.}  

 It is all in the details. Small cut out shapes, intricate laces, screen printed patterns, etc. Vintage clothing tend to have amazing and quirky details. It is this attention to detail that makes a piece of clothing unique.

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What vintage or reused beauties get you excited about dressin up?

Girl's Gotta Eat

Monday of last week, Robbie got his wisdom teeth pulled out. {OUCH!}

Trying to live up to the saintly nature of my namesake, I decided to create this wellness soup for my dearest. Fortunately, this soup is not only healthy, but it is tasty! 

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To make this gloriously green soup, you only need a few ingredients that you may already have in your fridge and pantry. 

3-4 handfuls of dark leafy greens {baby spinach, baby chard, & baby kale}

1/2 cup chopped onions

2-3 large garlic cloves {peel & chop}

1 teaspoon salt

4-5 grinds of fresh black pepper

2 cups veggie or chicken stock 

1 tablespoon butter or earth balance 

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Directions:

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When I tasted this soup I fell in green leafy love. To make it into a meal, I put together a few simple snacks. Frozen grapes are super simple but a snappy cool treat in the summer. Avocado wedges on top of goat cheese cream cheese is a delicious topper for my favorite water crackers. 

Hope you all try this delicious soup and add some veggies into your daily meal routine. It would be an easy recipe to alter to your taste. You could easily change it up by using different veggies or by simply adding a hard cheese such a parmesan cheese. 

Reflection Redux

       Change is as natural as air, and very much just as necessary. If asked, anybody who has ever lived with me can tell you that any space I consider home is readily changing. Furniture gets rearranged on a whim, surfaces get a fresh coat of paint, fabrics get covered and recovered, and new things appear on the walls with regularity. In a way, rearranging is how I keep inspiration flowing.
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         In the picture below is a large mirror that I found during one of many "thrifting adventures" {as I like to call them}. I saw it and had to have it. When I got it into my apartment, I had no idea what to do with it. It was large, heavy and not exactly the right colors. Instead of getting rid of it, I kept it and shuffled it around the living room along with all the other furnishings. After some time it found a good home on the dining table.

    Being the artist that I am, I could not keep paint away from the mirror. Instead of the bright reds, and oranges, and dark blues, I decided to go with a more soothing analogous color scheme.

         After several coats of paint, and many brush cleanses later, the mirror changed into a piece that vibes better with the rest of the living room. That is not to say that I wont ever change it again ;-)

Heat Wave

     
 Summer weather has officially arrived in Ghent. Everyone I know is taking shelter at a cafe, local shops, or any place with air conditioning.The Impressed studio has yet to receive this modern gift of A.C. What this weather has brought us is extra quick, extra strong drying power for the kitchen towels I dyed this week. It is fun to pretend that the apartment is actually in some tropical Caribbean city. The bright citrus colors of the towels hanging from the fire escape railings truly add a Carnival kind of feel to the place. Thank you to summer for such lovely musings and free and natural drying methods.

Keep it Clean

        Cotton kitchen towels make for amazing blank canvasses for stamps. The towels perfectly soak up dye colors to create vibrant saturation. After I hand dye or tie dye the towels, I use a fabric friendly ink to stamp them. It is fun to create sets of two towels and make each set have a common theme. Recent inspirations for my themed towels are song writing I have been doing, and the exciting OpSail exhibition that happened last week here in Norfolk. Many more themes and colors to come. I would love to know what themes everyone has in their kitchens. That way, I could create special sets for everyone.    

 

 

Crowning Glory

           Sometimes a gal needs a head dress to make her feel glorious. On those days when I want to pick my spirits up, it helps to play a little bit of dress up. You would be surprised how light you will feel just by rocking something colorful. Also,on humid days, like the ones we have in Norfolk, a head band like this can be pretty handy to control wild locks. Featured in this post are a few pictures of the head dresses I created using scraps from the tie dye projects I did a couple weeks ago. If you are interested in getting your hands on these little babies, you can kind them at Kitsch!

**Alright Kings and Queens, until next post, stay glorious!**

Inspiration Station

     
  Every design studio needs a designated space for a very, very important supply: Inspiration. A very fun and easy to refresh way of displaying things that inspire you is to create an "Inspiration Wire." This does not have to be an intense DIY extreme makeover project. In my home studio, I created my "wire" by using a few screws and natural twine. To hang my collected materials I used drapery clips, and clothes pins.
       If you are wondering what to hang, begin with magazines or catalogs that you subscribe to. There is a reason you were attracted to these publications and you may want to highlight or remember the most interesting things in them. Maybe you liked a wallpaper pattern in a home decor magazine, or a color scheme of cashmere sweaters in a fashion catalog. Another great item to add to your wall of inspiration is a collection of paint chips. You can usually find them for free at your local hardware store or at a place that sells interior/exterior paints. One last suggestion: vintage linens, such as the bird napkins in my studio, can add texture among paper goodies.

     Happy hanging!! If you have any other inspiration materials to share, please feel free. :-)

Infinity Scarves

       Thinking back to childhood, I remember tons of school programs highlighting the importance of recycling. Maybe it is this background on the matter that has lead me to be fascinated with the "Three R's" described in a school house rock melody. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. This song brilliantly prioritizes important concepts that really could help the environment. Because of my attraction to the triple Rs, I am very interested in eco-chic crafting. One of my current objects of re-transformation is the cotton T. There are SO MANY in existence! 

        So far, I have come up with  creating these infinity scarves out of previously loved t-shirts. (What a great way to combine up-cycling and stamping if I say so myself.) 

 Another cool thing about these scarves is how versatile they can be. When pulled around the shoulders, they can be used as a shawl, or they can be wrapped around twice to be a cute unique collar.

*****I would love other styling suggestions, just let me know! If you are really digging these, they will be in my Etsy shop. :-)

Post Test Tie Dye Day

    Here are some results from my tie dye test day. I am very pleased with the results, apart from the mess in my studio. These brilliant colors were well worth the wait. Avocado, Aqua Marine, Raspberry, and Golden Yellow mix and meld together to create joyful kaleidoscope.    

 

Above is an example from the Spiral technique.  

 

This Avocado and Aqua Marine beauty was created from the Fan Fold technique. 

  

Remember the "Carrot"? Pictured above is the carrot unraveled. 

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The rest of these pretty things were free styles. What do you think?

 

After these successes I am super excited for Saturday and to share these techniques!