Saturday, December 28, 2013

Once Upon a Time in NYC

New York. The city that never sleeps. I got to visit this city over the Christmas holidays with the Manis family, as a graduation present to me and Ben! I tried really hard to only pick my favorite photos of my favorite places that we went, but there were a LOT to choose from. Like...thousands. My favorite places included Chelsea, Central Park, Bethesda Fountain IN Central Park, the Plaza Hotel, Laduree, and the window displays at Bergdorf Goodman. 
The awesome Manis family! 

Monday, December 9, 2013

Final Senior Project for Computer Aided Design Course

This is the final part of my capstone project for my Computer Aided Design course. We had to research and develop a trend concept for a season in the future, hand draw our concepts, vectorize them in Adobe Illustrator, and then create the individual fashion flats, patterns and models to bring our mini collection to life. Of all the projects I have created over my college experience, this one was my favorite. I was SO inspired by the rich textures of Scandinavian and Swedish folk culture (my heritage!), and was bursting to try and make something that would represent me as a designer and challenge me in the programs I was using.  

All of the embroidery and patterns were created by me for this collection in Illustrator by mixing, manipulating, and hand-piecing together traditional patterns and motifs that I found most aesthetic. 
Painters like Karl Larson, traditional folk costumes, like the bunad of Norway,  and designers like Marchesa served as my major inspiration for this project. You can check out my intensive Pinterest board devoted to this project here. 
I created this gold design on this bodysuit from an old embroidery pattern, vectorized it, and gave it a metallic gradient to give a pop of color. I paired it with a sheer champagne colored skirt to give it a modern, but feminine, twist.  
This coat dress was the first design I came up with. I knew I wanted something dramatic and regal, so the high collar, high-low hem and deep red color sought to create that. I loved the idea of a crown as an accessory, with a lush bow, because I loved the way the texture of the metal mixed with the velvet and embroidery of the fabrics. 
For this gown I hand created a floral design by piecing together parts of my favorite Swedish rosemaling motifs, and then created the desired look and color once in Illustrator. 
I really loved the idea of a head-to-toe patterned suit, which has been very popular on the runways this season. This was another nod to floral swedish folk pattern, with a modern edge. The tulip shaped bottom of the jacket gives it a fresh silhouette. 
I was very inspired by Alexander McQueen and John Paul Gaultier, so I decided to create an obnoxiously large cable knit sweater and pair it with a sheer skirt to add some drama. This was actually one of the more complicated flats that I had to create in Illustrator, because I had to build the cable pattern myself and try to get it to line up in the right way. 
I think all together the collection looks very cohesive and the colors work well together. I would love to know what you think, please feel free to leave a comment! 

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Spring/Summer 2014 Look Book Project

First of all, I apologize a thousand times for neglecting my blog for so long. This is my last semester of college and I am just trying to graduate and get a big-girl job! I have had SO many things that I have wanted to blog about, so every now and then when I get some free time, my blog will get some much needed TLC. I am already designing a new layout for it, which I will probably give more detail on in a future post. I want it to reflect me and my personality, and right now I feel it is too cluttered and noisy for my taste. 

Here is the digital copy of the brochure I created for my Computer-Aided Design class! We were told to create a trend/forecasting editorial in the form of a lookbook for the upcoming Spring 2014 season trends. We then had to assemble a group of looks and colors that supported our trend and forecasting theme, and plan and execute a photo shoot using the looks. I used Jeffrey Deal to shoot my project, a great photographer that I have worked with before. I decided that simpler was better, so we just used the photography lab on campus as our location. We were not expecting the black backdrop, but it was either that or a neon green color! I was so thankful for Jeff and how hard he worked with the lighting/set we had to produce some really great images! 

The black border is just to show the page dimensions, and not part of the original design. I used a great site called Blurb to create my brochure! They have InDesign plugins that you can download and use to create layouts and templates for any shape, size, or thickness of book! As a graphic communications major, I found this site to be very helpful for typesetting and formatting any kind of project, and definitely recommend it to anyone! My project is in the mail and on its way to me now- I can't wait to see it! 

-Front and Back cover-





Monday, July 1, 2013

Don't Worry Baby

Hey everyone! I just wanted to share a few of my favorite photos from my trip to Manasota Key, Florida! It was a nice break from working all summer, and the beaches were so beautiful and peaceful! But as much as I love the beach, it was nice to come home to my cat and  have a room to myself again! 

I can't wait for the fall- I'm moving into my first studio apartment after 20+ years of roommates (if you count sisters)!

I'm pretty stoked. 


Sunday, June 9, 2013

Summer Braids

Lately I've just been in a braid mood. I just find them so ethereal and lovely. But unfortunately, I seem to be incapable of braiding my hair myself in any way, shape, or form. I blame it on my weak arm strength and the fact that my hair is SO long and tends to get tangled easily. Since I'm living at home this summer, however, my sisters have been able to practice different hairstyles on me- and they've gotten pretty good! The four bottom images are my favorite ones so far, the dutch braid and the waterfall braid. 
 I love these, especially the top right! You can dress it up or down, it goes with anything! 
The Dutch Crown braid
 The Waterfall Braid

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Blue Jeans

My really talented friend Kenny Olowoyo and I were in the photo lab in the Art building shooting for one of his projects, and these shots were just us goofing around. 

I love a good t-shirt and blue jeans, and these jeans are my absolute favorite. I got them on sale at Urban Outfitters last year, and wear them with everything! I love that they are high-waisted and stretchy, so they are super flattering and comfy (as you can probably tell from all the contortion-istic (is that a word?) poses.) 
 I just noticed that my mouth is open in almost every photo. I don't really have an answer for that one.