Such a Place Exists?!?

So now we all know that the House of Alexander McQueen was behind Kate Middleton's awesome dress, however as I was reading about the rest of her wedding day style, I come to find out that her veil was made of silk tulle with hand embroidered flowers along the entire edge of the veil. The embroidery was done by the Royal School of Needlework. Until this afternoon, I had no idea of such a place, and to be quite honest, it is my new goal in life to study there. At the school, they teach the old art form of hand embroidery. HOW AMAZING IS THAT! The students and faculty there have created some pretty awesome pieces:

Catherine's one of a kind veil.

An embroidered portraiture on a chair.

An amazing embroidered couture clutch.

As I was on the school's website earlier, I was reminded of the book, Gathering Blue; the story about a girl who is suddenly revered because of her ability to embroider and create a visual of her village's history.

Testing...

You can now find me on several other online communities aside from Etsy. I'm testing them out to get an idea of traffic, feedback, exposure, etc.

B.Link on...

BLink on...

B.Link at...

Inspired by Yoga

A month from now, Matt and I will be going on our long awaited honeymoon to the Virgin Islands. After reading some reviews on the place we're staying at, I've heard that the hiking and terrain can be a bit much. In a slight effort to combat the physical strain I am sure to endure, I've taken up yoga again. The instructor at Southtown Yoga Loft asked if I could create some items that can compliment her already exquisite studio and boutique. Here's what I've come up with:

Chakra inspired necklaces

Yoga mat carriers.

Headbands in assorted patterns.

Still working on new items as we speak. I've got about 5 other designs lined up for the mat carriers. More pics will be posted on my Facebook page as they are completed.

Whatever happened to Angela Chase?

I started to think about her as I was listening to my 90's mix while working on some new pieces at the shop. Especially when Buffalo Tom's, "Late at night" came on. This was the song that was playing when Jordan first held Angela's hand in public. Ahhhhhhhh.

As I hear that song, flashbacks of scenes from My So Called Life come to mind, and I begin to think of myself at that age during that time. When the show came out, Angela was just a few years older than me. I remember how my world used to revolve around music and a boy. I remembered thinking about how limited I felt in personal self expression, and how my only creative outlets for my personality could only be projected onto my clothes and hair.

I remember straddling the fashion line between "alternative" and preppy. I remember how I had to have everything "baby"... baby tees, babydoll dresses, cropped sweaters. Unfortunately, most of the things I longed for, I couldn't afford. During our adolescent years, my sister and I would swoon over the pricey items in Alloy and Contempo Casual catalogs. Cardigans and hoodies were essential. I once had this vintage Christian Dior grey cardigan, which my mom hated, that mysteriously vanished. To this day I think my mom had something to do with it.

All this was also around the same time when movies like Clueless and Reality Bites came out. I envied the style of these characters and, with my limited budget, tried to make their style into my own by spending hours on end with my sister, looking for the perfect vintage item, at thrift stores.

So all of these memories of past style came from a single song. I then started to think, if the show had gone on, what would have happened to Angela? If she grew up, what would she be like today? While it was just a show, to introverted shy girls growing up in the 90's, it was a bit more than that.

Old Things

Lately, I've been fascinated with old vintage crafts and notions. Last week I went to a few antique stores and ended up buying some pretty cool items. I found this small how-to book on knitting sweaters. The book was copyrighted in 1945, at the very start of the baby-boomer era. It was very cool to observe the basic style of the time in this book.

Notice how the pages offer a built in tape measure!

I was pretty pleased to have come across some old sewing notions.

Can you believe that this entire jar of old LARGE buttons was only $1! When knitting season comes this year, these old buttons will be put to good use!

Say What?!?

Today was a fairly busy day. I had do get my passport info finalized in order to go to the USVI next month, do some antique shopping for vintage sewing notions, and meet up with my friend Sarah to deliver her custom made graduation stole, and then finally go back to the shop to work on some more items. In the middle of all that I got an email from my friend, Tara, letting me know that I was named 2nd best local designer in San Antonio by the SA Current! Crazy!

Once I had a chance, I went over to the Filling Station to pick up an issue of this weeks Current, and sure enough, there I was, on page 50, listed underneath #1 SA designer, Angelina Mata, and just to the right of the #2. It simply said, Brandy Ann Garcia. I was really surprised by it. If you're in San Antonio, make sure you pick up an issue of the Current to check out all of the other best things in the city.

.

Check-In

For the entire month of April, check-in at B.Link via Facebook Places to get 30% off any one item! For those of you out and about in Southtown for First Friday, then this deal is coming to you just in time!

Click HERE for details.