New Dress Design and Riffe Gallery exhibit

Finished another dress design last night- Red Gingham Plaid Summer Dress. Lightweight, comfortable, and classic. Like the previously posted Leopard Dress- it is currently only available for sale through my etsy shop. Once I get a photoshoot for all the new items, they will be posted on the main website. Be one of the first to own it and go order it here: http://luckykat.etsy.com

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Gallery Opening- So I have been working the past 8 months with Charles Kleibacker from the Columbus Museum of Art to put together an exhibit that is opening on Thursday May 8 at the Riffe Gallery downtown. It is about his career as a New York couture fashion designer and about the exhibits on fashion he has curated in Ohio since 1986. It has been quite the experience working with him and pretty amazing to see it all finally come together. He will be giving a tour of the exhibition from 5-6p and it will then be followed by a reception from 6-8p. I will most certainly be there to brag about all of the headwraps I put together on the bald mannequins last week ;)

If you are local and interested in fashion- come check it out!  More info

Craftin' Outlaws and Seattle?

Craftin' Outlaws News-

I just finished updating the Craftin' Outlaws website with some details for this year's event. It will take place on August 16, noon until 7, at a new location! BoMA, the big historic church turned nightclub on Broad St downtown. I think it will be a great big space for it and it will be fantastic to contain all of the vendors in one room... and inside! No more worrying about tents or the weather.

Vendor applications will be available on the website starting June 3 and will be due July 3. I am currently recruiting helpers to plan this years events- so if you are local and have any interest and/or experience in areas such as marketing, obtaining sponsorships, creative event ideas, etc. let me know (send email to craftinoutlaws@luckykat.net ) and I will forward info to you about meetings, etc.

Also, if interested, I will be at the Craft Cotillion meeting on Monday April 28th at 8p in the backroom of Surly Girl to talk about C.O. and you can talk to me there. Also, you can meet a lovely and friendly group of crafty local folks as well!

Lucky Kat News-

Due to some price restructuring, all Lucky Kat brand clothing and purses have been lowered in price permanently. I will for the most part not be offering wholesale to retailers anymore, so the restructuring and resulting savings have been passed along to my lovely and loyal website customers.

The Columbus City Sampler that I had mentioned making drink coasters for in a previous post has been on sale on the Sampler Website and has gotten some local press as well. The Columbus Alive did an article that came out Thursday that had a photo of some of the samples including my coasters right on top!


Liz News-

I have been doing some really fun things recently, including an Occupational Costume themed Dance Party last weekend and a fun picnic in the park on Wednesday. Of course I have photos but haven't gotten around to posting them yet. I love my friends and will miss them terribly when....

I ... move ... to.... Seattle at the end of the summer!!

It's official- me (and the handsome Josh) will be moving out from the Midwest to the Northwest sometime in late August. Yeah, it's kinda a big deal.

Most people who know me- know that I have trouble sleeping most nights. No real problem falling asleep... but always waking up a couple hours later and I end up watching MadTV reruns on comedy central downstairs on the couch the rest of the morning. Too many days in a row started like this on a few hours sleep... it begins to take its toll.

After a rare Saturday night in watching a rented movie and chuggin a half of a bottle of NyQuil, I woke up this morning feeling so good and rested it is unbelievable. Granted, yes I did still wake up a few hours after laying down last night and moved downstairs as to not wake my man sleeping gently beside me thinking it would be another typical very early morning... but I ended up returning to sleep there for another 5 or 6 hours. I feel fantastic!

So... in honor of feeling awake and motivated- I present to you a 10% off coupon code- good for 10% off your order on the website. So go place your order and put me to work ;)
{ enter code: SPRING10 during checkout at http://www.luckykat.net }

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Also- have you checked out the etsy store lately? http://luckykat.etsy.com
If you don't have an account there to buy- it is super quick and simple to sign up!
Choice items on sale- possibly something you've had your eye on....Drawstring Tunic Dress, Dark Leopard Skirt, etc.
The new Leopard Print dress (currently exclusive to etsy) with tulle ruffle lining with a limited time low price.....

Hurry now to take advantage of these feel-good sales!!

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Remember the Lucky Kat Charms eBay store? Cool pewter charms in the shapes of skulls, cherries, pirates, guns, horseshoes, etc? Well- I have opened a storefront on etsy to start selling them again. I will be adding about 5 new charms everyday- so check it out and bookmark it to easily check back to see the latest additions.
http://luckykatcharms.etsy.com

Update...

I have been working on new clothing designs recently and forgot how enjoyable that is. Sometimes it is hard to maintain the balance of keeping up with orders for the same items I need to make again and again to that of being creative and making new things. The business is a little more streamlined with the new website that I can afford to take the time to begin creating again. I will be waiting until all of my design samples are ready and do a photoshoot for everything all at once instead of here and there as items are created. That is hard for me because once I finish something I want it to be out and available instantly!

So to compromise with myself- I have taken photos of one of the new dress designs on a dress form (shown at left) and have added it available for sale in the etsy store. I am really happy with how it turned out and it is very customizable as well- from piping colors, straps, etc. Go here to order one for yourself now before it is available on the regular website!
http://luckykat.etsy.com

As I finish up other items I may add them to the etsy store as well before I get them all professionally photographed for the main site. So keep an eye open....

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Two weekends ago I went to the scooter rally in Cincinnati. Had a good time! Pictures are up in my flickr page. Me above with my eyes wide shut for the camera!

So I have this leather jacket that I bought off of eBay a couple months ago (I am wearing it in most of those pictures). I had to reconstruct it a bit (take out some ugly shoulder pads, shorten the shoulders, etc -- yes, it was probably from the 80s) and really like how it turned out.

Unfortunately, because it is vintage and has been stored who-knows-where.... it smells. It's got that thrift store, moth balls, stale old smell to it that I hoped would go away after a few wearings. Well.... it didn't. It is almost to the point where it is unbearable to wear for long periods of time. Well, I brought it with me to the rally and wore it on the long ride on Saturday- hoping that being outside and in the wind would air it out. I guess it did slightly- and I was able to wear it just about all that day without gagging- but I can still smell it from about a foot away. I do realize that I could do something to it- spray it more with something, use some leather care on it, etc.... I just figured it should fade on its own. Still not sure if it is the leather, lining, or stuffing in between that is holding it. Any suggestions?!

New!

Website is finally done and live! A few orders have been placed already so I am pretty sure all of the kinks have been worked out with the shopping cart. It is nice to have it finished so I can start focusing on other things that need some attention- current pending orders and some new clothing designs.

In celebration of the new site, I am offering a free gift to the first 10 orders placed through the new website.

I had a photoshoot with Gretchen again on Thursday for two new dress designs from nice face. that I just got in stock. Pictured in the photo above- they are very cute, comfortable, and perfect for spring!

This week will be very busy- and I'll be heading to Cincinnati again this weekend, this time for a scooter rally. I hope it will be good weather and I am looking forward to a good time.

Disco Duck

Happy st. pat's day!  Am I wearing green?  no.  Am I drinking a guinness or green beer?  no.  Am I going out to an Irish pub tonite?  no.  Oh well... just another Monday I suppose.  But, I did get out on Saturday night and had a good time.  We went to a Polyester disco themed party in Cincinnati.  If you couldn't guess, the photo above is from it.  More photos are in my Flickr page- (link is over to the left).  We found suitable outfits and made the 2 hour drive after Josh got off work.  Champagne, fondue, and 70s dance hits filled the night.  Although- I ended up mostly drinking the Miller Lite we brought.... Anyways good times and we ended up making the drive back that night and got home around 4:30 am.  

I also just uploaded pics from my birthday party back in December (thanks to Ellen) as well to Flickr.  I almost forgot how decadent it was- how much sugar I consumed that night- and how lame it was that my gingerbread house collapsed so quickly.  I blame the frosting..... ;)

Also, it's official that I will not be doing Viva Las Vegas this year.  I love Vegas- but for various reasons I am not going to go or vendor this year.  I will be applying to have a vendor booth at Comfest here in Columbus again though at the end of June.  Last year was a lot of work as I was doing the booth all 3 days by myself... and it is outside in the heat... etc... but I sold a ton so it was worth it!   

Update...

So I realize I haven't written a post in a while. I was really going to be good with this blog... hoping to average a post about every other day. My excuse last week was that nothing really new happened... that I had nothing to say besides... still working on the new website.... etc.

But then I realized that some things did happen last week- 

business-wise: answered interview questions for a write-up on Lucky Kat that will be in the April/May issue of AMP Magazine, sent some dresses over to Curve magazine to be used in a photoshoot for plus-size fashions and would possibly be in a fall issue, sewed and painted for some website orders, and..... worked on the new website.

The photo above is what my cutting table looks like at the moment. I am working on some drink coasters made from the huge accumulation of cool scrap fabrics I have to be included in the Columbus' City Sampler. What is The Sampler you ask... "The Sampler is a super fun marketing & promotional tool for indie businesses. Each month, independent crafters, artists, shops, zines and record labels who run web-based businesses send samples and promotional materials to a contribution pool here in Sampler Town. All the samples are photographed, posted to the site and then portioned out, packed into boxes and sent off to Sampler recipients, Contributors and members of the Media all over the world!"
The new thing they offer is to localize it- so people can subscribe to receive samplers that focus on businesses from specific cities- so they can be distributed to people who are interested in supporting local businesses. I will be contributing to the Columbus Sampler that will be available through the shop on the Sampler website in April I think.

I decided not to put together swag bags for Craftin' Outlaws last year, but the year before I gave out bags with samples and promos to the first 100 attendees in the door from DIY crafty businesses all over the country. I know the people loved to get free stuff... but I am still not sure if it ever led to any further sales for the contributors.... Anyways- we'll see how this City Sampler turns out!

Liz-wise happenings:

Survived the blizzard on Saturday.  Despite never finding any sleds to go play in the snow- I had a really enjoyable day.  Ran around town with Josh (car only getting stuck in the snow once?), walked to the grocery store with Josh, Amy, and John, cooked porkchops for everyone, and we enjoyed a nice night in drinking wine from a box, and for some reason I woke up with a sharpie drawing of a stegosaurus drinking a milkshake on my leg.

Further progress on Bleed For Speed Soapbox Derby event.  We put up a myspace page and J and I just finished up the rule book last night and I will be posting that and some technical information (steering and brake diagrams) to help people get started on that page soon.  I've gotta get working on my car ASAP!