Tag Archives: bazaar ottawa

On a more personal note

So…Life happens and your plans adjust

I had Grandiose Plans… And then Life had other plans for me.

Nothing too serious.

A randomly painful tooth that has not yet been dealt with but emits signals to the mother ship randomly and causes moments of inaction.

Some new work related adventures that I will chat about at a future date, with time allotted there that has been enjoyably important but obviously time taken away from other projects.

New clients and return clients also being in focus as rent and bills gotta be paid, so they will always come first!

And some personal moments that were joyfully self absorbing, and equally time eating, and absolutely had to happen!

So, here we are, mere days before the upcoming Dancers Bazaar, and I have a very busy day today < yes, I’m taking time to blog>, tomorrow and Saturday with client work.

So what does that mean?  It means I’ll be taking a new approach to the Bazaar.

I had planned on making a pile of new “back packs” and I got 2 made. I may get a couple more made between now and then… but … here’s one set that will be for sale…

Blue and white bags

I also have a small selection of my ecotav napkins and pouches in their classic hemp and cotton fabric that will be available for purchase at the Bazaar.  they can be used for dance items too!

There are also the remaining pieces I made a few years back that have been joining me for the past few events and I would like them to go away.   You can see  them here on my Artfire Page.

So, some of you may have seen the following photo earlier in February when I was beginning to percolate on what to do.  And so here’s the plan…

Designs for BAzaar 2015

I have begun to measure and hang many of the beautiful pieces of fabric I have available for designs, and I have begun to illustrate potential ideas that might inspire you to join me in an adventure of co-creation.

What that means is, various pieces of fabric will be hanging in my booth and a variety of sketches will be there for you to peruse. each sketch will also indicate the amount of fabric required for that design and a labour price.  so if you like it and want it or a variation of it, we will talk about timing and what is needed to make you your custom piece.

If a piece of fabric that I have suits, you’ll purchase it that day to seal the deal and we’ll book appointments for fittings etc.

If you have your own fabric and like one of the designs and it’s a match, we’ll talk!

You’ll be able to join me in my little mini consolation studio and enjoy the concept of having something made especially for you!

Hope it’s fun for us both!

I’ll also have:

  • some used pieces on my rack on behalf of colleagues selling off their older costumes.
  • Zill mufflers courtesy of Paprycia – crochet queen and dancer!
  • Halyma’s Lessons on DVD on Super Sale

 

Creative journeys, On a more personal note

Designing…

So, here I sit, surrounded by beautiful fabrics I have collected, been given, and love them all dearly.

And I am preparing to start creating pieces for an upcoming event in early March where I will hope to sell pieces I have created and put my heart and soul into, hoping the right combination of size, style and colour will find it’s happy new owner.

But it’s completely illogical to my nature.

I co-create.

I design for my clients, working hand in hand with them to bring a shared vision to life.  They give me a starting point, some silhouettes, so colours, some concepts, and then I let my creative juices flow, drawing up ideas and offering them their options based on budget, time, and any other relevant factors.

Every piece is an original, every piece is a creation born from energy combined by two of us.

Don’t get me wrong, I do believe my personally generated designs are lovely, and have great potential to be personalized by the person who purchases them, either with my help or with their own styling.

Most people don’t see  what I see. I have created pieces that I considered beautiful canvasses that can be reworked with beads or tailoring and made into completely awesome pieces. But people often only see them as too plain.

By keeping them plain, I keep them budget friendly, so that the dancer can choose how much more she wished to spend on embellishment.

all hand beaded
all hand beaded

 

This grey velvet became my costume, but started as a one piece baladi dress that had no beadwork.  Then I decide I would just rework it for myself – and it turned out to be my featured performance costume for my Halyma’s Bellydance DVD # 1.

In the early days of sewing for the Bazaar, I used to create pieces while thinking of specific dancers who might like them, and quite often, I was blessed with their agreement and purchase.  Since I would tend to make them in the correct size for that dancer, it worked out well.

But I started to feel like I was almost victimizing those dancers and coercing them into purchasing by using my powers for evil.

I have continued to create simple pieces, but found that, without focus on a specific dancer to inspire me, many of the pieces remain unsold.  So they will be heavily discounted at the upcoming event in hope that will find a new home.

I think I need my muses back.

So, if you come shopping on March 8th at the Dancers’ Bazaar and see something that looks like it was made for you, and it’s in your size – feel flattered – you probably inspired me 🙂

Details:

Dancers Bazaar, Sunday March 8th, 12 noon to 4 p.m., 250 McArthur, Knight’s of Columbus Hall. Free parking and free admission. Facebook event  Organizer’s website

And remember, if you actually want something custom made, that’s what I do – email me!