chinny chin chin

spring 10 preview

 

for more information or to order please visit the store

life is busy

Well it seems that as I was busy with a sewing push, life's long to-do list piled up around me.  When I finally felt as though I had put significant effort into this blog, the set-up of the online store, the fashion show in Denver, and the finishing touches on the spring line, I looked around to see a bunch of other, albeit much more mundane, tasks piled up around here.  So for the past few weeks I have been doing things such as: dusting the tops of the ceiling fans, vacuuming under the rugs, washing windows, (I know Mom... I just told you it wasn't worth the effort with three little sets of hands and three little steamy mouths around here...but I couldn't stand it any longer.) grading papers, planning a staff-development day, making a little film for my school staff, (I rarely speak about my actual career here on my chinny chin chin blog, but my true profession is elementary education.  I am a fourth grade teacher at a public IB school in our neighborhood.  As teaching goes, it is an ideal match to my educational philosophy and an absolutely delightful mix of international and local students.) putting away laundary, sewing secret baby stuff for my friend Mandy's baby shower, sewing adorable bedding for my nephew Basho's crib, etc.  I have a really difficult time striking a work-life balance at times.  I am passionately devoted to teaching, and yet it has a real propensity to take so much mental and emotional energy.  I love the creative outlet that chinny chin chin offers me, and yet it also takes away from my family life in a way that I can resent at times.  I love the possibilities that the development of chinny chin chin provides, but the uncertainty and inability to devote neccessary blocks of time makes things difficult.  I have enjoyed going outside my comfort zone to learn new web skills to set up the store etc.  I actually also like the graphic design tasks of designing the spring catalog, although connecting with a printer and gathering estimates on the print job are tasks I could do without.  I really like photographing my kids, as I feel like the shots are meaningful to me as keepsakes and memories, as well as functioning as a business tool.  I would have liked to do such a business volume this spring to be able to afford a digital SLR camera. So as you can see (read) I am weighing in on the job I have done/am doing with chinny chin chin, this rainy Sunday night.
And then there are these very, very super sweet words from Shana which, honest to pete, have made me feel so greatful and so very understood artistically.  Thank you Shana!

porch shorts have me wishing i was lounging today

Today is the day of the show and I have a lot of nervous energy this morning.  What I wish I had was some lounging to do.  If I had some lounging to do I would grab Arlen here in his porch shorts, head out to the porch, sip a cup of coffee and watch the sun shine down on Arlen practicing skateboard tricks... Or Imogene make sidewalk chalk pictures..or Enid reminding the neighbor's dog that there is 'no barking' so early....

Actually, I am really happy to have the opportunity to present at the Hopscotch Hustle.  It's for a great cause (Weecyle- a non-profit that donates used baby gear to moms in need), and when I think about everyone coming out to support that, I get much more centered and a lot less nervous.  Then I wonder if they will have me on the mic narrating my line on the runway and I get jittery all over again. 

Just one small note about these porch shorts... adjustable waist!  So much more convenient for sizing!  Especially for little kids with the long and lean physique like my Arlen.

Today is also the day that the online shop goes live!  Later today you will be able to click here or on the link on the right, and order clothes in the sizes you prefer.   From now on www.chinnychinchin.com will bring you directly to the shop.

*For friends and family there is most exciting news.  The newest chinny chin chin model was born Friday night to proud parents, Brian and Brenda.  His name is Sabastian.  He is perfect!

rockin' the ingrid dress

Katherine here has definitely got the look.  She really was breathtaking and kind of took the ingrid dress to a whole new level.  The ingrid dress is sort of a staple piece, and I have sold it before in a totally different look.  At the Handmade Militia holiday craft fair I paired it with a felted wool button pin and accessories made from vintage holiday tablecloths.  That was super cute too, but now.... the way Katherine brought the glam....ooooh...gorgeous!   Katherine is also wearing both the skinny and broad scarf.  The way I tied the skinny scarf around her head was an idea I was playing around with in my head before I got to her house.  I wasn't sure how she would respond, or how it would look, for that matter.  The moment she had it on, I knew that I thought it looked so cool, and even way better than that, Katherine felt the cool.  Right after she asked what a 'hippie' was, she started working the poses.  Katherine has been Imogene's friend since she was born and has served six glorious years as prime role model for Imogene.  She might be my model role model  now.  Look at this austere, direct-into-the-lens, unflinching, gaze...

Absolutley lovely!  Thank you Katherine and thank you Jen!  I wish you a pleasant life of soon to ensue photo shoots, modeling contracts and perhaps even...pageants;). 

ps.  for anyone planning to come to the fashion show on Sunday in Denver (and a HUGE thank you in advance to those of you who said you would come out!! that means so much to me really) you can buy tickets ahead of time here.  I have no idea if you would need to do this.  I can't imagine it would sell out.  There will be lots of vendors, music, and most fun of all...cocktails. 

broadie overalls

Here we see the adorable Winslow wearing the 'broadie overalls' with a twinkle in his eye.  They are made from brown linen and fasten with two shiny silver snaps.  The legs are long and wide, and could be cuffed had Winslow not been so much on the go go.  The gorgeous home in the background is my friend Lauren's, who is a creative genius.  Lauren has impeccable, unprecedented aesthetic style.  Every outfit she wears, every room she decorates, every photo she takes, appear to have an effortless, serendipitous combination of texture and color.  She is really a marvel.  And so is Winslow, which one can clearly see here.  I named these little pants after my friend Jeff who makes his living as a fine garlic farmer in Oregon.  I have never seen Jeff wear any kind of pants like these, but when I sewed them up, I thought of what one would wear, if one was Jeff's tiny assistant.... one would wear these.    Their dark brown color makes them super practical.  The flair is on the inside where the overalls bib boasts a vintage fabric lining.  A little flashy for garlic farming... so its on the inside.

haberdashery for arlen

Here we have a little haberdashery*.
*(men's clothing). 
Little because......
1. It comes in small sizes and
2. It's only slightly fancy. 
The vest is fully lined with some vintage fabric that I wish to Pete you could see in these pictures.  I love offering it in my spring  chinny chin chin collection (becoming available online soon) because it is a piece that holds true to my ideals about re-purposing and upcycling, and yet it's totally fresh and new. Since this is the first time that I am going to accept custom orders, it is really difficult to balance the convenience and customer satisfaction of buying fabric by the bolt, with the 'green-ness' and uniqueness of using vintage fabric. One of the things I have always loved about working with vintage linen is that it provides certain constraints that limit the scope of the project.  In many ways it feels more triumphant to have crafted something satisfactory from a challenging, existing piece, than it does to cut patterns from brand new, flat cloth.  Sometimes I think of it like haiku.  Bear with me here for a second... Its working within a form and within a limitation, but the expression that comes out of it is still limitless.  Acknowledging that limitlessness feels authentically creative. 

The best news I have received lately is this: 
Arlen has announced that I am his best friend.

How cool

is my best friend?

ridiculously happy

Enid is ridiculously happy because Arlen is goofing off just to the side of me and the camera, and I am ridiculously happy because of the way this little tiny little kaftan turned out.  It is exactly as I pictured it, and I feel a sense of accomplishment regarding the improvement in my humble pattern making skills. 
I am still brainstorming a name for this collection, so for those of you that follow the blog... please suggest by leaving a comment.  Everything is kind of boho chic, but I am really trying to avoid the words boho chic in the collection name.  (Although I did think that Boho Chic-a Chica (read the first Chica with a french accent and the second with a spanish) was kind of funny until I remembered that I included three boy looks and well, then.....)

a sneak peek

peeking back at you...

Hopscotch Hustle

I think I am the luckiest gal on the planet when it comes to the hook-up for chinny chin chin exposure....get this:  I was asked to present eight looks in a benefit fashion show in Denver in April!

I am really excited about the opportunity and I am considering setting myself up to take orders- something I have never ever done before!  This means that you can order the pieces you wish in the sizes you need and I will them sew them up just like that.  Stay tuned for pictures of the pieces....I will think of the words to describe the collection and get the idea out here for you too. 
Now, you should head directly over to one of the organizers, Shana's site, for superb fashion advice for you and your babe. It's called Ain't No Mom Jeans.... perfection!
Thank you Jenni Hickey for your undying support!  You could do this so much better than me- so many days I wish I had your savvy and where-with-all!

honored to be part of the handmade militia

isn't the poster beautiful!  such perfection in its blend of quaintness and good design.  i really appreciate whitney because of all her hard work regarding the development and organization of this fair, but also especially because of her sense of vision regarding the creation of a crafting community, and especially, especially because her own style and creations are gorgeous and transporting!
so come by and see us on saturday! i am going to sew my little heart out this week so little girls and guys can dress festively without looking like they were wrapped in velvet and taffeta precisely for the purpose of appearing by the fake fireplace in a jcpenny ad.  ( having two girls and a guy, i fully realize that this proposition is welcome for boys and a sour dissapointment for girls who, even in wal-mart, look longingly at the $12.99 holiday frou frou dresses thinking "princess. princess. princess.")