Saturday, October 6, 2012

Artistry in Fashion 2012 Report

Sunshine, smiles, creativity, inspiration, and a new purse and scarf, those are just some of the things that I found at Cañada College at last Saturday's Artistry in Fashion day.  My sister-in-law, who's a wonderful seamstress herself, and I met up there and enjoyed the vendors, the designer fashion and styling show as well as Marsha McClintock's delightful trunk show.  Here are some of the pics and a quick review of the long day we spent there.  
The college itself is on the top of a hill and overlooks the beautiful green hills across the valley....whose name I have forgotten but whose beauty always soothes me.
The open courtyard provides space for the clothing, accessory and jewelry designers and also a showcase amphitheatre.
My first purchase came from the talented Lenore Española from Lenore Collection Lenore Collection who designs these terrific bags with recycled paper.  
My "green" bag back home in Baltimore
woven recycled paper 



Here's hoping this enthusiastic designer continues her green and practical designs.
Mary Lou Rankin and lovely Park Bench Design garments
I've been attending sewing expos for almost twenty years now and it was a surprise and treat to see a familiar face from that circuit, which has diminished over time.  Mary Lou Rankin owns Park Bench Patterns which have a relaxed fit and allow for tremendous creativity in fabric choices and combinations.  Since the fashion trends seem to be swinging that way for tops and jackets, I think there will be new interest in these patterns again. Her fabric choices and color selections were simply beautiful.  I probably like them so much because she and I have similar fair skinned coloring and I was awash in an inkwell of black in other fashion booths.

Since I sew for myself I'm always forgetting that people actually buy clothes, not patterns or fabric at these affairs.  Thank goodness for these designers and design students that most of Americans don't sew, right?



I did see plenty of people buying buttons and beads for any number of craft project ideas.  Me, I've stopped buying buttons "on spec" although they are tempting, just like little jewels of their own.
After a few hours of shopping we got to sit and watch the designers showcase.  Rhonda Chaney, who heads the design program at the college, has been someone I've admired for years.  I watched her do a fantastic trunk show presentation at the American Sewing Guild national convention in Birmingham more than 10 years ago.  She was remarkably creative in her clothing, fabric and pattern choices but also the most organized, thorough and helpful of any sewing instructor in her presentation.  I'm sure her students and colleagues benefit from all those skills.  
Rhonda Chaney introducing the designers' fashion show
After a quick nibble we went indoors for the highlight of the day, a Saf-T-Pockets Saf-T-Pockets Patterns fashion show narrated by owner Marsha McClintock.  I took many pictures but most of them are too blurry to post so check out her site gallery for more details (Note to student models...stop and let us see the details.)  Here's about the best I could do:


Marsha herself
Marla Kazell wearing the Circle Jacket at the Saf-T-pockets booth
After the fashion show, Marsha gave a bonus demo in the fashion design classrooms where students had their garments and projects on display.  Such talent and enthusiasm!  
Student works on display
I finished the day by making another purchase, inspired by Jill's post about Harlequin Feltworks .  Jenne's scarves caught my eye and the hard part was deciding which one to buy.  

The one I chose had the green's and blues of the CA sky and coast line and lovely golds which remind me of the aspens I spied blanketing the west's mountains as we flew back to Baltimore the next morning.  So glad we could have time with family and I could enjoy these artisans.  Here's hoping you have people in your creative life who inspire and motivate you.

Oh, if you're every in the SFO airport area, here's a terrific little place that we found in Millbrae:
Our last delicious CA meal

10 comments:

  1. Sounds like fun!

    Ooh, I hope you had some soup dumplings for me. Downtown Millbrae has so many excellent Chinese restaurants; I think the overall quality is higher than touristy SF's Chinatown.

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    1. Oh, yes, we loved the scrumptious soup dumplings. We started the week with dim sum at Hong Kong Flower Lounge just a few moments after getting of the plane on Wednesday. I'm definitely going to make sure I enjoy Chinese food whenever I'm in the Bay area.

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  2. What great pictures! Our brief meeting was nice...wish I had had more time during the day :)

    And I'm so happy that you bought one of Jenne's scarves - I'm such a fan of hers :)

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    1. So glad that we at least had some moments. I so enjoy the artisitic flair of you and the other West Coast bloggers and hope a small portion rubs off on suburban sportswear me.

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  3. I'm so glad you managed to attend this year, Jane! And I'm sorry I wasn't there to meet you in person. I seriously *love* that purse you bought!!!

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  4. Jane, I am so glad that you were able to attend Artistry in Fashion this year. Thanks for your kind comments about the event and my trunk show in Birmingham years ago. Hope that you can come to Canada again next fall for AIF on September 28.

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  5. Thanks for the tour. I'm sure I'll never make one of these, but it sounds WONDERFUL!

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    1. Thanks, Linda. I too would have been an online observer if it hadn't been for having family nearby. It's hard being so distant from them but sure was delightful to visit when this event was scheduled.

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  6. a wonderful and inspiring report. I will tuck this away for future reference. Perhaps I can find a way to attend this at some point in time. What a gorgeous setting!

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    1. Thank you, Robin. You are so right about that gorgeous setting. I loved northern California from my first business trip there and in my 3 1/2 years residence, I never took that beauty for granted.

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