nervousness. insecurity. excitement. anxiety. relief.

Posted on 28. Aug, 2010 by Princess Lasertron.

I feel like I’m stealing a few more hours of work–it’s 2am and I just put Alice to bed and have to be up at 8am. Tomorrow (today) we’re doing two things.

Walking to Dundee Days to visit the Pancake Man (here are my photos from last year–I love thinking I was pregnant then and didn’t know it!)

Shooting the look book for the dress collection with Minorwhite Studios (my CAMP neighbors and friends), and gorrrge model/stylist Sarah.

It’s all done.
The collection is done.
I am so.
…beyond.

This collection represents the ending of the conceptualization and the beginning of who knows what. Diving off a cliff. I have such an intense feeling of accomplishment and completion, and just as much anxiety about opening the next chapter:

Organizing two runway shows.
Printing a catalog.
Launching a new website.
Sending press kits to magazines, stylists, and bloggers.
Mailing pieces to influencers.
Creating branding for hang tags, garment bags, shipping boxes…
Re-making each dress dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens…

And it all begins tomorrow with the two-day look book shoot.
In my building. Back together with my friends. How it all started.

I’m so desperate for this collection to succeed. To even sell one dress. To receive photos from a happy bride in one of my pieces, from a girl who wore the short polka-dot princess number to her sweet sixteen, from a woman who is excited to have worn a bridesmaid dress that she actually wants to re-use. From a new mom who just wants to feel pretty again.

My tummy is in knots, I’m sure I’m going to throw up on the runway, I feel like so much could happen for me if this works out. So much could happen for Alice.

So. Here we go. This will be my month. Get your ticket to Omaha Fashion Week today. You will have a ball and maybe even get to see me barf on the runway in front of over 5,000 people.

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hello again.

Posted on 26. Aug, 2010 by Princess Lasertron.

Wow, five days without a post. I think that is a record for me.
I’ve been so busy with work. The busiest I’ve ever been. And also the most fun because it is my own project…not something for a client. That’s the best thing about developing new products–it’s still so new to you.

So let me set the stage for you.

It’s 1am and I am just taking a break. Today I came in at 3pm, left for a party at 8pm, and got back at 10. I declared today Vengaboys Day at CAMP because I have had Boom Boom Boom stuck in my head all day. (and yeah watch that video, next year’s fall collection is based on that.) (jk.) (I miss the 90s.) All week has been fittings, sewing, fixing, reinventing. I keep getting new ideas and then I spend all day implementing them and I really need to just FINISH something.

Right now I have fabric stiffener on pom poms drying in the microwave. (Danny, if I break your microwave, I’ll buy you a nicer one.)
Painting polka dots on stripper shoes.
Dying tights.
Making wings.

As my assistant said, “If you aren’t peeing yourself in anticipation of this collection, you’re doing it wrong.”

(For your time, an Alice.)
Back to work so I can get this all right.
xo

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pictures and video from the omaha fashion week spring preview show

Posted on 02. Apr, 2010 by Princess Lasertron.

One beautifully photo-heavy post coming right up!

(more…)

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a few sneak peeks for tonight’s runway show (for those of you who won’t be there!)

Posted on 31. Mar, 2010 by Princess Lasertron.

About three weeks ago I was invited by the Omaha Fashion Week designers to show a few pieces at a runway show to raise money for the Omaha Women’s Fund. I talked to my partner Joi Mahon and we decided that it was a great promotional opportunity and we had time to do five pieces. Here are some sneak peeks to what the attendees are going to see tonight.

Now I’m off to get my hair done for the show tonight, meet my models backstage to make sure the hair and makeup worked out, and take some promo photos!

None of the pieces at tonight’s show are part of the original Spring 2011 collection I am showing at Omaha Fashion Week in September. The five garments I am showing tonight are designed first to be easy to sew quickly (thank Joi for that), and second to generate excitement for the twelve party and wedding dresses debuting this fall. It’s just gonna be a party tonight!

I am also excited to see what the other designers created. I wonder if they are doing all new pieces or if they are showing things that are for the September show.

All of this makes me so excited to move into CAMP in May and start planning how to best use that space. So many hours spent alone in my studio this week and I am eager to break out!

xo

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Cool news for Joi Mahon and Dress Forms Design, and info about the runway preview show.

Posted on 26. Mar, 2010 by Princess Lasertron.

My friend Joi is hands-down the absolute best clothing designer, patternmaker, and seamstress I have ever seen in my life. Anything you can dream up, any style of garment or technical detail, can be realized by this woman with a few yards of fabric and a dress form. She is one of those designers who truly understands the fundamentals of her craft, which is something many up-and-coming designers cannot say.

Joi is my partner in the Princess Lasertron by Dress Forms dress line launching this September, and she was recently honored by sewing machine manufacturer Baby Lock as their newest national spokeswoman (or “spokessewer,” as Joi puts it). After Joi won the Passion for Fashion competition at the last American Sewing Expo, Baby Lock identified her as an up-and-coming “design star.” She will also be adding a new program called “Love of Fashion” to the already popular “Love of Sewing” series taught by celebrity Nancy Zieman.

This picture is from a photoshoot she recently did for an industry magazine cover–I don’t know if I have the green light yet to talk about that but seeing Joi’s progress makes me so proud of her and grateful for her guidance and help on the dress line! I first met her almost three years ago when she created my wedding dress and she is just a huge influence on me.

So yeah not to beat this horse to a dead, glue-y pulp, but I need to fill you guys in about the runway preview event next week. I’ll do this in list form because this entry has been pretty paragraph-y so far:

• It’s Wednesday, March 31 at 6pm. Show starts at 7:30.
• I will be showing five new pieces.
• One of my looks will be auctioned off and the winner gets to take their pick.
• Tickets are $50 through Saturday with discount code “designer” at checkout. After that, they are $75 with the code. Click here to be taken to the event page where you can purchase a ticket.
• That includes snacks and an open bar! So worth it.
• I would sort of kill for an open bar right now.
• Proceeds go to the Omaha Women’s Fund.

If you can make it to the show, I’d love to see you. I also think it’d be super cool to have a big crowd of my friends to support me, the work Joi is doing, and all of my amazing models. And if you can’t go, no big deal.

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