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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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/ Archives for blogs / every day life

every day life

2017 Favorite Links

December 21, 2017 By Chie

Over this past year, I started sending out a monthly newsletter. It includes highlight of my blog posts, favorite links and short messages. I thought compiling all my “favorite links” of the year might be fun, so here they are! Most of them are sewing-related, and some are small business tips and blogging tips. Enjoy!

January

♥ Beginning of the year calls for a new calendar! This super cool washi tape that turns any notebook into a calendar. 
♥ I love reading Brooks Anne’s journey of making a custom made dress.
♥ Great article on While She Naps about slow growth and the internet gold rush. I believe most good things in life are built slowly overtime. 
♥ Love every thing this girl does. This wrap dress (actually separates that looks like a dress) would be a perfect addition for the Spring wardrobe!
♥ Great tips by Maddie on how to travel with your sewing machine. 

February 

♥  This is great for lingerie sewers – 4 Sets of 12 mm Rose Gold Rings & Sliders for £3.50. Want! 
♥  Simple guide to creating an online course.
♥  Just added this Nimbus extension for my Google Chrome to take a screenshot of a whole webpage, not just the visible part. Very useful! 
♥  With Canva, it is easy to design facebook page cover photo or event invitation. I like the fact that you can pay as you go ($1 per design)
♥  I watched BuzzFeed women attempted to make their own dresses. It reminded me of the first time I made myself a top (Almost 10 years ago).
♥  How to be More Consistent at Blogging. Always my goal. 
♥  Sewing tip: Use graph paper to copy a commercial pattern. The grid is helpful in keeping the grain line straight.

March

♥  Free bra fit checklist PDF download at Merckwaerdigh!
♥  Five minute photo-filled history of Callot Soeurs (one of the most important couture houses of the Belle Epoque).
♥  Amazing behind the scene videos of Chanel and Georges Hobeika. 
♥  I learned in this article that ruffles are historically unisex, as opposed to our notion of ruffles as a girly statement. 
♥  DIY duct tape dress form! 
♥  Round up of fall 2017 trend. My favorite is little house on a prairie inspired dresses.
♥  Free swimwear sloper for download at Burda Style. It’s a good starting pattern for making a bodysuit.
♥  Helpful article in how to define your personal style. 
♥  I see embroidery everywhere this Spring. This free template from Burdastyle helps you jazz up a neckline of a Spring top!

April

♥  My friend from Philly sent me a brochure from the exhibition of 1960s Paris Fashion at FIT. I searched online, and found a recap of the exhibit. It’s great!
♥  EASIEST way to sew a ruffle. This is amazing. Just watch it! 
♥  Bridal gown new trend – “barely there” dress! 
♥  I was curious as to how actors fake accents as I watched Damian Lewis acts an American billionaire in Billions. Here is the answer.

May

♥  7 Questions to ask for a minimalist business owner via Amy Lynn Andrews.
♥  Love this free pattern – Unicorn Key Tag. Great as a gift.
♥  How to on making a mitered cornered welt pocket flap via Thread.

June

♥  Love this DIY linen jumpsuit!
♥  Have you had trouble turning a spaghetti strap inside out? Try this trick on how to sew spaghetti straps using cord. 
♥  Lessons from 7 Years of Blogging by A Pair and a Spare. Looking back, I started blogging around the same time and followed her blog since 7 years ago. Her site is somewhere I still visit on regular bases. I think she has stayed true to her style and did not sell out to sponsors or was less obnoxious about the sponsored posts. Read her tips! 
♥  Fun youtube video by with Wendy on How to Buy Fabric.
♥ What to do when you are feeling blah about everything.

September

♥  This girl’s patch pocket coat is so cute! Thinking of making this for Kiko this winter.
♥  Four rulers that I covet. 
♥  Sashiko embroidery tutorial with free patterns! 
♥  Honest opinion essay by the owner of Design*Sponge about the state of blog. Interesting.
♥  Pinterest hashtag tips.
♥  Quick tips for round hem. Would look great for a wool skirt.

October

♥  I love this top. I would love to make it in neutral colors like black, gray and white. This would be something I would actually wear every day. 
♥  This gave me a chuckle…How I Grew My Instagram Following from 430 to 433 in One Month!
♥  How to Sew Velvet like a Pro – via Threads
♥  How a Cashmerette sewing pattern is developed from start to finish. Inspiring! 
 

November

♥  My six-year-old daughter is really into crafting now. This “make your own button” project seems like a fun project to do with kids.
♥  I don’t quilt but this is an interesting article on how to buy quilting fabric wholesale.
♥  How to plan your blog content via a Pair and a Spare. Better blog content planning is in my to-do list for 2018! 
♥  This button hole attachment for industrial sewing machine is on my wish list! I use Juki D9000. I love the machine but one disadvantage is that it only sews straight lines, so I have to pull out my old home sewing machine to do my button holes. The attachment will solve the problem! 
♥  Wedding dress designer, Brooks Ann uses use fusible interfacing to make the sheer flower print pop, making it more opeque. 

December

♥  Free snuggly slipper boots patterns via Tilly and the Buttons. Great as a handmade Christmas gift! 
♥  Another Christmas gift idea you can make in a big batch for coffee lovers. 
♥  20 reflection questions you can ask yourself to say goodbye to the year 2017.
♥  Fun video showing how Christian Dior is training its next generation of craftsman.
♥  This article includes good tips on sewing french seams for chiffon…sew with the tissue paper!

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Filed Under: every day life, inspiration, my favorite Tagged With: business advice, sewing, small business tips

2016 in Review & What’s Ahead

January 1, 2017 By Chie

2016-in-review-and-whats-ahead-vivat-veritas2016 is ending soon. Thank you for all the support you’ve given this year. I hope to be able to keep creating beautiful things and sharing things I learn on my blog. To sum up the year, I wanted to recap some highlights from 2016.

Wedding dresses and client worksbridal photo in hamarikyuBridal photoshoot with Tulirefashioned wedding dress vivat veritas bridal3Refashioned wedding dresstulle-lace-wedding-dress-back-viewTulle knee length wedding dress
close up and back of purple dress
Lavender wedding dressivory-lace-mini-dress-by-vivat-veritasIvory lace mini wedding dress
white fur cape and sparkly romper
Sparkly costume for J-pop singersorange kimono dressKimono dressback view of emerald green kimono wrap dressMore kimono dress

35 Blog posts

I wrote 35 blog posts in the year 2016. That is much less than what I wrote last year, which was 69. There are many unblogged objects which I want to show here in the future. With limited time, writing blog posts was not my top priority and updating Instagram took over the place to showcase what I made. Of the small number of the blog posts, these three posts generated the most page views:

– Bluff-stitched patch pocket tutorial
– How to alter the back of a dress that is too small to zip up
– Realistic look on hours I spent on my handmade business

It’s interesting that these posts are informational posts as opposed to “what I made” posts that were popular last year.

Newsletters

I started a newsletter in 2015. For 2016, I wrote once a month. It is usually a recap of my blog posts of the month, some behind the scenes stuff and links of things I enjoyed reading/watching. If you are interested, sign up here.

What I sewed for myself
I had some opportunities to sew myself new clothes. Here is the roundup:
back style - beige wrap dressTransitional Piecestripes body suit and levis 501 jeans2Stripes body suitme made may outfit vivat veritas blogNeutial stripe skirtkhaki color wrap dress with big pocketsKhaki wrap dressmerckwaerdigh bhs10 size aMerckwaerdigh BHS10simple-outfit-white-button-up-and-blue-jeansArcher button-up with fly front modification

For Kiko
I sewed some stuff for my daughter. She recently turned five. We started going to Nippori together to choose fabrics. She likes that her opinions are incorporated in her clothes.
Princess aurora dressModern Princess Aurora Dresssimple knit dress in panda fabricPanda dresspeacoat-dusty-green-handmadePea coat

Most frequently used patterns
Last but not least, my most used patterns were Carolyn pj from Closet Case Files. It is a great pattern to make it as a gift! 
Carolyn Pajama Closet Case Files3
Carolyn pajama in silk satinaztec-pattern-carolyn-pajamas-by-closet-case-files-3Aztec Carolyncarolyn-pajama-pink-and-ivory-pipingCarolyn pajama in Pink

P.S. Here is 2014, 2015 in review.

2016年の総まとめをしてみました。こうやって見てみると色々作ったなとしみじみ。
作ってお客様に羽ばたいていったものたちや、自分のクローゼットに参加した洋服たち。
来年も素敵!と思っていただけるものを作っていきたいと思います。
今年1年、ありがとうございました!

chie sig2Find me elsewhere:

Filed Under: blog, blogs, every day life, 日本語 Tagged With: handmade clothes

Realistic Look on Hours I spent on My Handmade Business

December 24, 2016 By Chie

realistic-look-on-hours-i-spent-on-my-handmade-businessAs the end of the year is quickly approaching, I was thinking back of the list of things I wanted to do in year 2016. I wrote in this post back in 2015 that I wanted to track the number of hours I spend working on my business. The main part of the business is designing and making wedding dresses. A less time consuming, but equally important aspect of the business, is the culmination of other less time consuming projects. These are things like selling on handmade market places like etsy and creema, participating in various photoshoots and working on other sewing projects like custom kimono dresses and costumes. This past year, at the end of every work night, I would keep a log of the hours I spent in excel. vv-work-hour-log-screenshot

It is pretty simple; I only have three columns – date, hour and the specifics of my activity. Between January 1st to December 23rd (total of 358 days), I spent the total of 737 hours. On average, I spent two hours every day working toward my business. It is about 14.41 hours per week. In reality, I don’t work on Sundays and there are some days that I did not get to put my hours toward because of travel or family. So it might be more accurate to say that I spend 2.8 hours, or approximately three hours every weekday after/before my 9-5 job on my personal business.

I included the following to my log:
– Sewing time
– Time I spent on buying materials
– Blogging
– Writing newsletter
– Taking and editing photos
– Consultation time with clients
– Networking events or parties
– Time I spent on making my own clothes. Although it was not many hours, I counted this into log as my study time and material for blogging.
– Updating etsy and creema shops
– Accounting and taxes

I did not include the following:
– Transportation time from home to meetings or to fabric shops
– Knitting I do for pleasure
– Time spent at post office to ship orders
– Updating SNS

For the upcoming year, I am hoping to spend a similar amount of hours. About 2 hours a day would be a good goal for me to keep up my work/life balance. I am lucky to have a full time job that I can work from home so that I don’t loose time in transit. My kids go to bed at 7pm and don’t get up until 7am, which allows me to have the night and early morning dedicated for what I like to do. Looking back, the majority of time was spent on sewing, which is fun for me but I need to spend more time on marketing/networking. This will bring more business but would necessitate a decrease in time on the sewing machine. But there is the rub, if I cannot have more business but less time to sew. So, I need a sewing assistant who can come over to my house and help. So…. finding that person is my next goal.

I will continue to log my work hours in 2017. It would be interesting to compare again this time next year.
chie sig2

Filed Under: blog, blogs, every day life, FAQ

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和のかたちを、新しい日常へ。 一本の帯を丁寧にほどき、普段づかいできるワンショルダーバッグへと仕立 和のかたちを、新しい日常へ。

一本の帯を丁寧にほどき、普段づかいできるワンショルダーバッグへと仕立て直しました🌸

見た目からは想像できないほどの収容力。ハサミや糸、リッパー、ペンチ…制作道具もすっぽりまとまって収まります✂️✨入れるのは私だけだと思うけど😆

内側の裏地も可愛い♡

一本の帯が、誰かの日々をまとう相棒に生まれ変わりますように。

From tradition, into everyday life.

One obi, carefully unstitched and reborn as a one-shoulder bag for daily wear🌸

It holds far more than it looks — scissors, thread, a seam ripper, pliers… all my sewing tools tucked neatly inside✂️✨ Though I’m probably the only one who’d pack it like this😆

The lining inside is a little secret I’m quite fond of♡

#帯リメイク #着物リメイク #DIY #アップサイクル #制作動画
金色に輝く森は元は着物の羽織でした👘 漆黒の地に、金彩の木立が幾重にも連なって
夜の神秘的な森を歩 金色に輝く森は元は着物の羽織でした👘

漆黒の地に、金彩の木立が幾重にも連なって
夜の神秘的な森を歩いているような、静かで奥行きのある一枚🌳

水着の上に羽織れば、そのまま街へ歩き出せるビーチカバーアップにも。

お揃いのキャミソールは既に素敵なお客様の元にお嫁に行きました👰‍♀️
 
Photographer @capturetokyo
Model @kumabeeesan
Make up and hair @mami_hmua

A forest of gold, once a kimono jacket👘
L
ayer upon layer of gilded trees on jet-black silk. A quiet, deep piece, like walking through a mystical night forest🌳

Wear it over a swimsuit and go straight from the beach into the city as an effortless cover-up🖤

The matching camisole has already found its way to a wonderful new home👰‍♀️

#着物リメイク #ラップパンツ #kimonoremake
Furisode — the long-sleeved kimono young women tra Furisode — the long-sleeved kimono young women traditionally wear once in their lives, for their Coming of Age Day ceremony (Seijin Shiki) at 20 — often gets worn just that one time. I actually wore my cousin’s furisode for mine, so hers got a second life. But most don’t. They live for one single day, then disappear into the back of a drawer, unseen for decades 😴

But beautiful silk doesn’t have to end there.
From a once-in-a-lifetime ceremonial robe to something you can wear again and again. This piece — butterflies mid-flight, flowers in bloom — deserved a new season. So I remade it into an i line dress.

振袖は、生涯でたった一度しか袖を通さないことが多いです。

私自身は従姉妹の振袖を着たのでその振袖は二度人に着られたけど、成人式の日だけを生きて、あとはタンスの奥で眠り続ける😴誰にも見られないまま、何十年も。

でも良い生地には、終わりがないんです。

一度きりの晴れ着から、何度でもまとえる一着へ。蝶が舞い、花が咲くこの1着に、新しい季節を与えたくて、マーメイドラインのドレスに仕立て直しました。

#kimonoremake #振袖リメイク #upcycledsilk
オーストラリアからのお客様がオンラインで着物を選び、オーダーしてくださいました✂️ まずは仮縫いを オーストラリアからのお客様がオンラインで着物を選び、オーダーしてくださいました✂️

まずは仮縫いを郵送でお届けし、Zoomの画面越しに丈や身幅を確認しながら、少しずつドレスは形になっていきました。

桜の下で、鳥居の朱色の中で笑う二人の写真が届いたとき、 遠く離れた場所からでも、確かにこの手で紡いだものが誰かの人生の一部になったのだと感じて嬉しかったです♡

A customer from Australia chose her kimono online and placed an order✂️

I first mailed a mock-up, and little by little, checking the length and width over Zoom, the dress took shape.

When the photos arrived of the two of them smiling under the cherry blossoms, in the vermillion red of the torii gate — even from far away, I felt so happy knowing that something woven by my hands had truly become part of someone's life♡

📷@whoshotthephotographer
👰‍♀️@cscambary 

#KimonoUpcycled #MadeToOrder #BridalCouture
#着物リメイク #国際オーダー
このシルクの軽さ、暑い季節にちょうどいい🫠 一枚の着物から、ワイドパンツを作りました✂️薄手のシル このシルクの軽さ、暑い季節にちょうどいい🫠

一枚の着物から、ワイドパンツを作りました✂️薄手のシルクは風を通して、歩くたびに裾がふわりと揺れます♪

後ろ姿には、着物の袖だった部分を使っていてお尻の部分の花柄が上下逆さまになっています👻最初は迷ったけれど、これはこれで面白いなと思ってそのまま残しました🫶🏻

一点ものなので、この一本だけ。気になる方はプロフィールのリンクから見てみてください♡

This silk is so light, perfect for the hot season 🫠

I made these wide-leg pants from a kimono✂️ The thin silk lets the breeze through, and the hem sways softly with every step ♪

The back is made from what used to be the kimono sleeves, so the floral pattern on the hips ends up upside down👻 I wasn’t sure at first, but honestly it grew on me, so I left it as is 🫶🏻

One of a kind, just this one pair. If you’re curious, the link is in my profile ♡

#着物リメイク #kimonoremake #正絹 #一点もの #和柄 夏の装い ワイドパンツ
数年前に制作したシルクのドレス。 今回「Released. Reimagined.」というコンセプ 数年前に制作したシルクのドレス。

今回「Released. Reimagined.」というコンセプトに合わせて、@redyeingproject さんに黒染めをお願いしました。

Helen x Vivat Veritasのイベントにベンダーとして出展してくださったご縁から生まれたコラボレーションです。

「服を捨てる前に、黒染めという選択肢を。」
色あせた服を、グラム単位の染め直しで蘇らせる——そんなコンセプトに強く共感しました。

天然素材のシルクスカート部分は深く美しい黒へ。
シャンティレースの部分は、少し緑がかった表情のある色に変化しました。

一着を長く着続けるための、小さな選択。
Before / Afterの写真、ぜひご覧ください🩷🖤

A silk dress I made a few years ago.

For this ""Released. Reimagined."" concept, I asked @redyeingproject to dye it black.

This collaboration grew out of a connection made when he joined the Helen x Vivat Veritas event as a vendor.

""Before you throw it away, consider black dyeing.""
His concept — reviving faded clothes through by-the-gram redyeing — really resonated with me.

The silk skirt, a natural fiber, transformed into a deep, beautiful black.
The chantilly lace took on a subtly greenish tone.

A small choice, in service of wearing one piece for longer.
Take a look at the before/after photos🩷🖤

黒染め
@redyeingproject

Photographers
@nothing_special_88
@japanphotographer_

Model
@sienna.christinaaa

Jewelry
@viviange

Hair
@angh0
@sho_kanaida
@iam__little__boy

Make up and videos
@glam_by_jyoti

#黒染め #RedyeingProject #ReleasedReimagined #着物リメイク #サステナブルファッション
これを着て、カフェに行ったら絶対目立ちそう😆☕ アップサイクルで生まれた、新しいファッションの形。 これを着て、カフェに行ったら絶対目立ちそう😆☕

アップサイクルで生まれた、新しいファッションの形。
コーヒー豆袋のジャケット × 着物リメイクのセットアップ。

一枚一枚、生地の柄合わせから縫製まで、すべて手で仕上げています🪡🧚
実はこの着物、裏地にも別布を仕込んでいて、羽織ると初めて見える色があるんです♡

ヴィンテージ素材に眠っていたストーリーを、
もう一度誰かの日常に届けたくて作りました。

If you wore this to a café, you'd definitely stand out 😆☕

A new form of fashion, born from upcycling. A coffee bean sack jacket × a kimono-remake set-up.

Every single piece is finished entirely by hand, from matching the fabric patterns to the sewing itself 🪡🧚 Actually, this kimono has a different fabric worked into the lining too — there's a color that only reveals itself once you put it on ♡

I wanted to give the stories sleeping in vintage materials a chance to become part of someone's everyday life again.

Photographer 
@nothing_special_88 

Model
@emorylove33

Jewelry
@viviange

Make up
@elanoramua

#アップサイクルファッション #着物リメイク #サステナブルファッション
実はこのお洋服、今回のショーに入れるか自分では迷っていました。結構前に作った作品だったので。でもヘレ 実はこのお洋服、今回のショーに入れるか自分では迷っていました。結構前に作った作品だったので。でもヘレンと話す中で、これも一緒に見せようと決めました。

ヘレンと3週間近く一緒に準備を進める中で、コレクションの作り方、見る人を楽しませる魅せ方、ルック全体の組み立て方など、本当にたくさんのことを学びました。自分一人だったらこのルックスを入れる決断はしなかったと思う。誰かと一緒に作ることで見えてくるものがあるんだなと、改めて実感しました。
ヘレン、ありがとう♡

Honestly, I wasn't sure whether to include this piece in this show. It was something I'd made a while back. But talking it through with Helen, we decided to show it together after all.

Working with Helen for almost three weeks to prepare for the show, I learned so much — how to build a collection, how to style looks that engage an audience, how to put together a look as a whole. I don't think I would have made the decision to include this piece if I'd been on my own. Creating something together with someone else really opens your eyes to things you wouldn't see alone.

thank you Helen @designerhelen♡

Model @izumi_nishida

Photographer 
@nothing_special_88 

Jewelry
@viviange

Hair 
@angh0
@sho_kanaida
@iam__little__boy

Make up
@glam_by_jyoti

#KimonoUpcycled #SustainableFashion #DesignerCollab #着物リメイク #ものづくり
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