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Vivat Veritas

Custom Wedding Dress & Kimono Upcycled Clothes | オーダーメイドウェディングドレス&着物ドレス

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Shop Update – Build-a-Dress

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Build-a-Dress

Introducing a new feature on Vivat Veritas shop – Build-a-Dress!

I’ve made this dress for a customer using Spoonflower fabric. Spoonflower fabric has too many pretty fabrics! I thought it might be interesting to offer a feature so a customer can create her own custom dress using Spoonflower fabric and choosing one of my dress designs. By the way, Oksansia of Optimistic Art left me a comment the other day to let me know that the strawberry print fabric I used for the dress was her design! So funny! She has many other pretty print fabrics available on her Spoonflower shop – My favorites are this poppy print and fun workout…so cute!

So here is how the ordering process works:
1. Select a fabric from spoonflower.com
2. Select a dress design from the options above.
3. Send me an etsy convo with a link to your fabric choice, dress design and your size (bust, waist, hip and desired length of the dress).
4. I will get back to you within 24 hours with a final quote of the order, with a reserved listing link.
5. purchase the listing and wait for the dress to arrive!

Please note the turn around time of this listing is 4-8 weeks.

Mommy’s Diary 58: Adoption Progress

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Hello! Today I want to take a break of Kiko’s terrible two nightmare talk and talk about our adoption process. After our initial interview with ISSJ, we were notified that we got approved! Yay! Now we can move on to collecting necessary documents for the study. If you are new here, my husband and I are trying to adopt a child, and going through two different routes to increase our chances of receiving a child: we are trying both adoption and foster care. I’ve written our process for foster care registration here in the past.

When we received the letter from ISSJ informing us of the list of necessary documents, we glanced at it and put it back on Andy’s desk. The letter sat there for a bit – there is a long list of documents we have to get, starting from certified copies of birth certificates, marriage certificates, physical evaluations, personal statements, self biographies, pictures of our place and so on. Today we decided to tackle this long list and got a little over half done. We had to order Andy’s birth certificate from the U.S., since we live in Japan now. Andy started writing his biography, and has spent at least 3 hours on it already.

Although collecting all these documents is a lot of work, I think it is good that the agency requires a through information and background check of the hopeful parents. If I were a parent who was putting my child up for adoption, I would want the agency to be as through as possible. I forgot to write about our initial interview with the case workers at ISSJ, but it went well, and Andy and I wished that the child guidance center did the same thing for foster care registration. The ISSJ case workers asked many questions about our selves, our plans etc, many of the topics Andy and I had discussed at home. I think having an interview like that would help weed out some of the bad foster parents…  I like ISSJ, I feel like they really make sure to place the priority on the children.

We are hoping to have all the documents sent to the agency by the end of this summer, so we can do the home study. I am excited. Another step forward toward adoption.

Photos are from my Instagram – Follow me @vivatveritas

Interview: Elizabeth of Oia Jules

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I first came across with Elizabeth’s jewelry shop on etsy, Oia Jules through Hapa Time blog. I’ve collaborated with Jessica of Hapa Time and am a regular visitor of her blog. When I saw her wear this gold chunky chain bracelet with a natural stone, I had to click the link to see more.. After spending a few minutes on the site, I ended up buying this bracelet which I have worn almost daily since its arrival! Elizabeth and I chatted via etsy convo and she was kind enough to answer my questions about owning a small business. I hope you’ll enjoy the interview:)

Image via Oia Jule Facebook Page

1. Please tell us a bit about yourself.

I started my career as a graphic designer in New York CIty after attending art school at Pratt Institute. After a few years I moved out west to Los Angeles and continued my career as an Art Director working in the music, fashion and entertainment industries. I decided a year ago that I wanted to pursue my passion, creating my own jewelry line, as a full time profession.
I’m a super huge music enthusiast, lover of all things creative and tiny bunnies.
Also, I’m a mommy to the cutest, funniest 6 year old boy in the universe ; )

Photo via Cheetah is New Black

2. What’s the story behind Oia Jules? How did you get started?

I actually started the business with a friend from art school 2 years ago. She had just got back from a vacation in Greece and was inspired by some of the street vendors making necklaces there. Oia is in Santorini, which is where the name comes from. We started off making necklaces and selling them at craft fairs. Eventually the designs became more sophisticated and I opened the Etsy shop.

3. What is your typical work day in your shop?

Right now my shop is my home office. I usually get up, check emails, make a to-do list for the day. After breakfast with my son, I get start by fulfilling orders. I work while he is in school and then take a break when I pick him up. I usually start up again after dinner and continue working into the night.

Photo via Song of Style

4. Is this your full-time profession? If not, do you plan on becoming a full-time in the future? What steps do you plan on becoming a full-time?

Yes, I have been fortunate enough to turn this into my full time job. I love the schedule flexibility it offers.

5. What’s the best part and worst part about running a small business?

The best part is, well really the 2 best parts–schedule flexibilty and hearing feedback from a satisfied customer. It makes me incredibly happy to see pictures of customers wearing their pieces and seeing how they style them. It’s very rewarding to hear that someone loves something you’ve created.

The worst part is when an order gets lost in the mail!

6. What is your advice to a small business owners in a creative field?

Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t succeed. Take risks and pursue your passion.

Top left via Devon Rachel, top right and bottom via Hapa Time

7. What’s next? Any exciting plans coming up?

Right now I have teamed up with the new site called Style/Stalk. Its a sale site where fashion/style influencers pick their favorite brands to work with and offer pieces at special prices. I was lucky enough to be picked by Alicia, of Cheetah is the New Black blog. I love working with fashion bloggers! I’m also starting to branch out into retail. I’ve got about 5 retail stores around the US that carry Oia Jules and I am hoping to increase that number this year!