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checking in. saying hi.

Posted on 03. Oct, 2009 by admin.

Hasn’t it been a sporadic week for posts?
Maybe you just read my website on your feed or only stop by once in a while, so it could be that you didn’t notice or mind my irregularity.
The last week has been insanity with local events…

Today was BarCamp Omaha, the culmination of months of planning between me and the other three organizers. We kicked off the weekend last night with a raucous opening party at Nomad Lounge, then were up early at 7am to set up. It was a fun and inspirational day of talks, drinks, snacks, connecting, and dreaming, and I am so excited for all of the possibilities we have in our town right now. So many people came to our event from other cities–Kansas City, Denver, College Station–because they realize that Omaha is blowing up and they see that we are having fun and getting work done.

Last week I also went to the American Sewing Expo and I still have to do a recap post from that as well! I have some GREAT news on that front to share with you this week.

Other than that, get ready for…
…outfits.
…links.
…photos.
…two weddings to share photos from.
…and some advice about collaborating with other freelancers.

I’m also almost ready to launch my new identity re-branding and website in the next week to ten days. There are going to be some big changes, and a lot to get used to, but you are all going to love it.

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house stuff

Posted on 26. Sep, 2009 by admin.

Another thing I really love about living in a place like Omaha is the cheap real estate. Whenever I visit the coasts or take trips to larger cities, I always have fun but I’m just reminded of how lucky I am to live in an area with a low cost of living. It’s nice to have a yard (though I hate mowing it). It’s nice to have some quiet at night. And it’s really nice to not have to spend thousands of dollars a month on rent.

A few weeks ago we found a cute little house in our neighborhood. It’s on a double lot with a *huge* yard, a big front porch, hardwood floors, and a cute little sunny kitchen. It has a finished attic with a bonus room (destined to be our bedroom + my walk-in closet!) and a finished walkout basement with tons of natural sunlight. I never wanted to be a “basement crafter,” relegated to the dingy part of the house that wasn’t totally overcome by my family’s crap, but I will enjoy working out of this bright, sunny basement with a walkout to a cute little porch! There will be such awesome photos once we finish setting everything up, and I will have about three times as much space to work as I do now.

We live in Dundee, one of the busier parts of the city, and sometimes our nights are quiet, and sometimes there are fights that spill out of the bars in our neighborhood business district, and sometimes there are loud cars speeding by on the busy street a few blocks from our house. Sometimes I see schoolchildren walking single-file down the street toward the library or movie theater, all holding tight to a long rope.

Sometimes people rip on Omaha as a flyover city, or they assume we have no cultural assets like a thriving arts community or good schools or a fun nightlife, or they think that we never travel or know anything about the rest of the world. But those people are wrong, and I’m glad I don’t have to spend 3500/month on an apartment so I can afford to live my life and get out and see the world! Small cities are the bomb dot com.

These are a few of my inspirational photos for how we’re going to do the interior design of the house. I have a surprising amount of anxiety about decorating because it’s such a blank canvas and I really don’t want to mess it up!!

What is your number one tip for a first-time homeowner?

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omaha fashion week 2009 recap

Posted on 21. Sep, 2009 by admin.

Photo: Chris Machian/The World Herald

This year’s Omaha Fashion Week runway show was SO PACKED! I haven’t heard word back on any official numbers yet but I think there were easily three times as many people as there were last year. I thought last year was crowded, but this year the street was jam-packed with thousands of people dressed to the ninety-nines.

This year I was fortunate to have a reserved seat at a table–so glorious not to have to save a spot! Because there were so many people, I didn’t get as many good pictures because I couldn’t move closer to the runway. Instead I just enjoyed it, promising myself I’d steal someone else’s photos later.

I wore a red wool felt dress by Cloak & Dagger and BCBG shoes/bag. Dave wore Ben Sherman. After the runway show, we went to the Maxx, a local dance club, and just took these photos after…so we’re a little disheveled!

Right after I sat down before the runway show I was interviewed for a local tv thing…they asked me questions about my business and I also talked about how much I love Omaha’s creative culture!

We also bumped into our good friends Dusty and Marlina…

The designers this year were fabulous! The real stars of the night. 21 (I believe?) designers were featured in the final Omaha Fashion Week runway show, and the talent just blew me away. All of the designers had such different concepts, and the audience sat captivated by each new parade of beautiful models in these fantastic garments. It was a great reminder for everyone of the immense design talent we have here locally.

Some designers that particularly stood out to me were Megan Myers, whose contemporary, covetable hand-knitted accessories and garments would make you look at your grandma’s crocheted afghan in a whole new way. Alexia Thiele, owner of Autopilot Art, is a local veteran designer who made her mark in 2006 with her deconstructed and appliqued hoodies, showed a huge range of styles on the runway this year from dresses and knitwear to the cutest toddler outfits I have ever seen. Finally, I loved Mary Pattavina’s headpieces, hats, and fascinators and I’ve developed a little bit of a girl crush. Her website, Pretty Good Things, is a must see!

I will say that this year’s event seemed more organized in some ways, and painfully disorganized and confusing in other ways. The VIP ticket holders received a few more perks including shuttle service (though it was hard to spot on the street and I didn’t find a ride back to my car), and a “red carpet entrance” where a well-dressed host offered you a microphone to share “who are you wearing?” The campiness and overdramatics were fun, and it was easy to see that the event organizers did everything they could to make attendees feel special.

I know that a few people in general admission missed the stadium seating of last year and had a more difficult time seeing the 140-foot runway. The huge white screens hanging behind the runway blew in the wind, making the video projections difficult to discern. I missed the engaging, brightly-colored graffiti walls of last year, but give credit to OFW for trying something different.

I have my work cut out for me next year. As a lot of you know, I’m working with with Joi Mahon of Dress Forms Designs to create 17 wedding and party dresses for women who are looking for a well-designed, unique, and high-value look. Each dress will feature very simple foundations and over-the-top dramatic details and this project is going to be amazing! Debuting the collection at next year’s Omaha Fashion Week would definitely be a dream come true for me, so hopefully you will see me up there next year!

Photo: Alexandra Matzke

These are some of the photos I could find on the internet from the event…hopefully in the coming days, some “official” photos will be released and I will be able to share some kind of slide show.

Photo: Chris Machian/The World Herald

Photo: Laughinc

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Minornite Photography and a free photo shoot for your wedding!

Posted on 10. Sep, 2009 by admin.

Minorwhite Studios, whose photographs have appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone and Alternative Press, recently announced the creation of their new subsidiary, Minornite, which will primarily include wedding photography.

A lot of you raved about this engagement picture of my friends Jon and Sarah that I posted recently taken by Bill Sitzmann at Minorwhite Studios. I love all of their work so much!