I couldn't be more proud to introduce you to my dear friend Stephanie. I first met Stephanie about 8 years ago in the elevator at FIDM on orientation day and we hit it off right away. Unlike me who quickly jumped ship to sail the educational seas of interior design... Stephanie remained on board the Good Ship Fashion Design. And boh oh boy... did she get it right! After graduation she did some amazing work. To really grasp the talent that this lady has... you must check out the photos on this page.
Stephanie has recently opened an Esty shop, Honey Cooler Handmade. The virtual shelves are stocked with intricate items that are tailored for the girlie-est of girly girls... or for those of us who only wish to be so on occasion. Her work is truly beautiful in every sense of the word. I can attest to her workmanship. I have sat across the dinning room table many an afternoon, watching her pieces come to life. Made from ribbons, lace, etc. dating as far back as the 1800's, and crafted with such intense detail... her work is an art form.
T:: Tell us a little about your background in fashion design. How old were you when you sketched your first "fashion" and what was it? Where did you go to school?
S:: I love lingerie and vintage-styled fashion, so Honey Cooler Handmade is the perfect way for me to channel my obsessions into something more productive than just amassing lots of pretty clothing! I graduated from FIDM in San Francisco with a degree in Fashion Design, but my penchant for fashion started much earlier. I drew my first dresses as a little tot camped out in front of the TV watching The Wizard of Oz and Annette Funicello's Babes in Toyland on repeat. The gowns I drew were ridiculous: huge skirts with swags, giant flowers, bows and fitted bodices. Needless to say, I credit my favorite childhood movies with cultivating my sometimes fantastical fashion sense. Even though my style has calmed down a lot since my youth, I still do some of my best work with a good costume movie playing in the background!
T:: Honey Cooler Handmade- tell us about the über sweet name of your shop.
S:: In addition to being the name of a super sweet drink, honey cooler is Deco slang for a kiss! Since so many of my pieces are inspired by Deco elements, I wanted to choose a fun name that was rooted in one of the coolest time periods in history. Some other vintage slang words I came across in my hunt for the perfect shop name are: moll (a gangster's girl), juice joint (a speakeasy), manacle (wedding ring), cement mixer (a bad dancer), petting pantry (movie theater), tomato (an attractive girl), platter (a record). And there are a million more out there... perfect your vocab and you'll be talking like Bogey in no time... That smudger has one heck of a chassis and stilts for days. Being her dapper would be the cat's pajamas, but she's all static and too heavy on the munitions if you know what I mean...
{note from T: I absolutely adore slang from bygone days & often quote my Grandpop! ❤}
S:: You're right that I love to combine elements of different time periods in my work! Part of the reason for that is that I'm really indecisive and love far too many things to focus on just one. And to be honest, being truthful to only one period is costuming - I want my pieces to be regarded as clothing to wear every day. My favorite time period by far the Victorian era. I love the 1830's - 1880's, and the 1920's to the 1950's; those periods emphasized a level of workmanship that is absent from most contemporary fashion.
T:: Your pieces are so incredibly detailed. How long does it take you to make some of the different pieces that you offer? And don't you work with mostly antique lace, ribbon, etc?
S:: The Bow Belts and Wistful Flapper accessory pieces generally take 1-2 hours to make. A Ribbon Corset can take 4 or more hours, whereas the insertion lace pieces can take much longer depending on the intricacy of the design. Each piece is unique, so I never have to adhere to a set schedule or time frame when I sew. The materials I use run the gamut from very old (circa mid-1800's) to contemporary. I use Victorian-era pieces for portions of the Souvenir Tops and the laces used in the Deco Camisoles. If I'm lucky I'll come across old fabrics now and then, but I find that they usually don't hold up in the long run so I usually use new fabrics for the Deco Camisoles and Garconne Tap Shorts. Old laces are actually quite strong though, so I have no problem using them! The Ribbon Corsets are made with mostly vintage ribbon; my most recent (Betsy) was fashioned with ribbon from the 1930's!
T:: If you were a food or meal... what would you be, and why?
S:: This is a hard question to answer! I'd probably be pizza because it's the most delicious food on the planet! At its core it's uncomplicated, but in an instant you can gussy it up with all kinds of awesome toppings and it becomes something unique and awesome!T:: Tell us 6 things that you are grateful for right this minute.
S:: 1) My amazing husband. I'm lucky to be married to my best friend. 2) Fountain pens! 3) Growing spots of blue sky after a dismal few days of weather. 4) My always-improving sewing skills. 5) Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles in Berkeley. 6) Tammy, for being such a great crafty partner! (And for featuring me on her rockin' blog!)
________The Goods________
One lucky reader will win a $20 shop credit from Stephanie's deliciously beautiful shop, Honey Cooler Handmade!
additional entries:: {please leave a separate comment for each one}
- Follow the Honey Cooler Handmade Blog
- Follow the Honey Cooler Handmade Blog
- Copy & Paste this Tweet:: { Enter the @HoneyCoolerHM Giveaway on @punkrawkpurl to win a $20 Shop Credit: http://bit.ly/jPzI8D }
The giveaway is open to all readers (U.S. & International) & ends on June 22nd at 11 pm pst. Winner will be chosen by random number generator & announced on June 23rd.
Stephanie has very generously offered PuNk rAwK pUrL readers
20% off in the Honey Cooler Handmade shop!
Please use code: ROSCO20
This coupon code will expire June 24th 2011
{ can you tell that someone has a lil' crush on Rosco P. Coltrane the cat? }
{ can you tell that someone has a lil' crush on Rosco P. Coltrane the cat? }
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