Enter to Win!

Today, I am excited to introduce my first ever give-away! Please help to spread the word to anyone you think might be interested. Up for grabs is a Dash Dot Triangle Hat (S/M) of the watermelon variety, one of three in the whole world. Get ready for fall in style! Good luck, and see details for entry below:

-Enter your name and email address in the comments.
-Tell me, if you win, would you keep the hat for yourself or would you pass it on to someone you know? Elaborate on who the recipient would be, or why you would put it on your own head first. Your answer will not determine whether or not you win and there's no right or wrong answer, I'm only curious.
-Entries will be accepted through the end of the day Monday, September 5th and the winner will be announced on Tuesday, September 6th.
-The winner will be randomly selected from the pool and notified by email.
-International and domestic participants are welcome, and the item will be shipped for free anywhere.
-Please do not email your entry, I will only accept submissions left in the comments, thank you.

Looking for a Studio

We have a trip planned to apartment hunt in New York in a few short weeks. I have been dissecting the Listings Project every Wednesday morning, and I always manage to find a few options that I love, but I'm looking for a little help. Do you live in New York, or have friends that live in New York, or have relatives that own a warehouse, or something else like that? If the answer is yes to any of those questions (or, if you are just patient and kind), here is my call to you...

I am looking for a professional studio space to move ALL Knitwear. I am pretty flexible with neighborhoods, but have been looking for living and working spaces primarily in Brooklyn. I would prefer a private space, but am open to a shared situation as well. This space would be a clean, tidy environment, with 24-hour access, wireless, etc. I have hopes for a window or two and hardwood floors would be great. My work set-up more or less consists of a couple of tables, a few shelves, and a desk for my computer. The knitting machine is very noisy and could be disruptive to studio partners throughout the day, depends on your tolerance I suppose. I generally use the machine from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (with many breaks in between, it's not constant) and work on quiet tasks before and after.

All logistics considered, I am really looking for a place that is professional and clean, where I can be happy to come to work everyday and feel comfortable welcoming guests and clients. I spend so much time working and it's really important to me to be content with my surroundings. If you made it this far in the post, thank you, and if you have tips please send them my way. I <3 NY.

Feeling Miami

I have been putting the finishing touches on my piece for the Jerome Fiber Art Show coming up at the Textile Center. Working with cashmere and handfuls of tiny pom poms has been a lot of fun and I'm excited to show the finished garment. The show, Spaces Between, opens on Friday, September 16th with a reception from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. My piece will be shown with works by three other fiber artists from Minnesota and will be on view until October 15th. I will post another reminder closer to the date, but if you live in the area I would love to see you there. Please say hello!

Anniecure No. 2

I performed Anniecure No. 2 last Friday on volunteer participant, Jahna Peloquin. Jahna writes about fashion, art, and culture here in Minneapolis for local publication Vita.mn, and also pens a blog on similar topics. On Jahna, I wanted to try something new, a mosaic effect using many different colors on each nail. I was pleased with the result and plan to attempt this treatment on my own tiny nails sometime. I would like to try to do one Anniecure per week between now and October, please contact me if you're interested. This one hour service is free for volunteer participants, and intended to be approached with open minds from both parties. Boys accepted, no feet please.

Madewell

One of the major projects I worked on over the summer is an order of hats and scarves for Madewell, available in select stores and online this fall. I have been plugging away at this order slowly for weeks and the stock has been building up under my tables. This is my first order for a sizeable national retailer, and I have encountered many processes and tools along the way that make the product packaging and its entry into society much more official. I have to admit, I was beyond intimidated after scanning through the 200 page vendor manual provided by the company, but after I recovered I came to realize how much fun I would have putting it all together. I fantasized about multi-color swiftachs, officially printed barcode price-tags fresh from Hong Kong, and uniform poly-bags that have never been used before (I usually recycle). It took a long time to source everything, but I finally have all of the pieces to get this stuff ready to ship, including the colored swiftachs in green and pink. Life is good!

Fall is Near

It's hard to believe that this photo was taken nearly two years ago, the length of my hair is a trusty indicator, it's twice as long now! Fall is my favorite time of year, after summer, which is my first favorite time of year. The weather has already started changing a little bit and I've been enjoying the rare late-summer luxury of wearing pants instead of shorts. It's the time of year where we wrap up summer and settle into fall. I like thinking of it as settling, like leaves and bodies, getting ready to rest for the winter. Except, I won't be resting this winter, not one bit. It's almost sweater season and the fall update is coming on October 10th, live from my new home in New York City.

At the Table

I've seen a lot of good shirt combinations while looking at the backs of people that work at the center table in our studio. Sometimes, the whole table is lined with computers and it starts to feel like a very humble Apple Store, with iPhones and iPods scattered in between coffee mugs and crumbs. Living on the ground floor with a private storefront entrance is wonderful for visitors. Neighbors and friends stop by often and the people scenery is always changing. I find these boys here often, hunched over their computers, making jokes and making work. You may see some of their work next Thursday, August 18th at the Trylon Microcinema in Minneapolis, where they will show their new video work called Prrple Rain. I'll be there, with snacks! Is this thing in 3D?

In other news, I conducted Anniecure No. 1 earlier this week on my first volunteer participant, Beth Chekola. This is something I've been practicing for all summer, and I even got to try a new technique that practically worked! Anniecures are one hour sessions of color for your nails (top-coat included) and open discussion about anything. Who will be next?

Celebrity Guest

It's a Boy

I have been preparing for a hat photoshoot this weekend, one of two photo sessions to take place this fall. I am thankful to have a whole afternoon's worth of friends stopping in to get underneath and inside these hats, all in their own special way. A pile of turtlenecks anxiously waits for the crowd to arrive, ready to dazzle in front of the camera. I created this hat the other day and have been told it's a boy.

Yen Magazine

I just received my copy of Yen Magazine, a winter issue that includes a feature on ALL Knitwear. Yen is based in Australia and to be honest, I haven't really had a chance to look through it too much yet, but I plan to read it on the plane tomorrow morning. Yes, that's right, I am going on a 24-hour marathon trip to New York and I leave tomorrow morning at 6:30 a.m. (What am I still doing up?)! I've never done anything like this before but I'm really excited about having a little break. I plan to meet new friends traveling from the other side of the world, do a little shopping and maybe even sneak in the McQueen show at the Met if we're lucky to fit it in. New hats are coming soon, and some of them are funny.