im back…
26 Oct 2010 Leave a Comment
in life Tags: been gone for a minute, costumes, glee, halloween, im back, kurt, lady gaga, welcome back
yes yes, i’m back and i’m here to stay! i had a trying week last week and fell all the way apart over the weekend. yesterday i took the day to reflect, think about some things, and gather the strength i needed to keep going.
part of my recovery can be attributed to me going out with a friend of mine. we went to a movie, got a few drinks and just kicked it. something i hadn’t gotten to do in so long. i haven’t had any homie time in a minute. but i got it in, and now i’m back!
so what’s been going on with Jill of M.O.S.T. you ask?? well, i have been working on a halloween costume for a friend of a friend and its is going to look amazing! he’s going as kurt from glee as lady gaga (i know right, lolz) i would show pics of progress but my camera is m.i.a. yet again. urgh… but i will have pics of the finished product. promise.
daily designer dilemma dos…
11 Oct 2010 Leave a Comment
in 3d, business, dilemma, fashion, life Tags: 3D, client contract, customer is always right (when on paper)
so a while back when my home girl first started her seam-stressing company last year she ran into a bunch of problems with one specific client. to make a long story short, the dress was a surprise gift and the person it was intended for got the wrong information from the person who was paying for the dress to be made, she was called all kinds of unprofessional (even though she, in my eyes, didn’ t do anything wrong) and it really got her upset. as a person starting out, you never want someone to discredit your professionalism, especially when its unwarranted.
as an up-and-coming [enter profession here], professionalism can make or break you. so after that lovely learning experience we took to the web and found a sample client contract and promised we would always implement it to keep things from happening like that ever again. with a client contract both parties know what is to be expected and to what standard of professionalism they each are going to be held to. i kinda forgot about my client contract but upon realizing i can see things getting out of hand as i take on multiple clients at once i have no choice. i cannot place myself in a situation to have bad things be said about me with out proper proof of what was agreed upon. the easiest way to nip those type of things in the bud is to have them implicitly spelled out on paper, signed, and dated.
thats not to say i think my clients are shady and would bad mouth me the first chance they get, its just so that i can sleep at night knowing that they are getting the best service and knowing that i have a standard to uphold and will do all that is in my power to uphold it. so with all that, i sent a copy of said contract to a client today and hopefully he gets a chance to look it over. i will give him as much time to look over it as he needs and ask questions as he sees fit before things get going. i didn’t want to bombard him but i will consider this fair warning… *diva shrug*
learn something new everyday…
10 Oct 2010 1 Comment
in business, fashion Tags: fashion community, learning from others, process book, road to a better me, things designers should know
so i was originally on Fashion Bomb Daily when i came across their new designer spotlight post: azede jean-pierre… she’s really talented. i read the post on her, then ventured on over to here blog, newcomer. then like i always do when i am intrigued by someone’s blog, i added her to my google reader (fyi: i love google reader! its the best thing ever!!!!) that’s when i got to read one of her newer posts that gave me the greatest ideas ever. if i am to make it in this wild but wonderful world of fashion i need to be a little more organized. i have my planner and all that but i need somewhere to keep all my ideas for my jill of M.O.S.T. creations… i need a process book! somewhere to post my inspirations, my sketches, my patterns and more.
i’m lowkey mad i hadn’t thought of that before or learned about it in high school-thanks a lot FIHS (#ikidd) but i’m just happy i learned about it now. now i get to go ahead and get started on my spring/summer 2011 collection the right way! i’m all kinds of excited now. i will be making my trip to utrecht in the morning (after hancock’s that is), will be in the office printing, clipping, snipping and gluing away. i cannot wait!
*so i go to add ms. jean-pierre on facebook just now and it turns out she knows quite a few of my friends, some from when she went to scad and some from my school now. small world ain’t it?? lolz, and like most i live for connections… ;o) #veryexcited
toga! toga! toga!…
08 Oct 2010 1 Comment
in college, D.I.Y. Tags: gotta love google, how to, sheets as clothes, toga
so tonight a group of friends are having a homecoming toga party and i can’t wait! i used to think things like that were only for the #wp but i’m glad to see my buddies branching out and doing something new. i already helped one friend figure out her toga of choice earlier this week but then i woke up this morning to realize, i forgot about me! so i get on google and wha-la! i find the perfect one for me. she is beautiful. a bit revealing, but according to recent polls (two homies and a associate) that’s right up my ally.
now of course you know i’m gonna add my own lil’ suttin’ suttin’ to it, and shorten the hem line just a smidge. mine will be burgundy (a flat sheet from ross) with white trim (balloon ribbon in the arts an crafts room) and im wearing my white gladiator sandals (from steve madden) . that is if i can find them. lolz the great thing about this project is that there is virtually no sewing required. anyone can do it with little to know effort and that means fun for all!
what are some of your weekend plans?? any interesting costume parties? theme parties? regular parties? are you even leaving the house?? lolz
hancock fabrics…
06 Oct 2010 Leave a Comment
in business, fabrics Tags: 50% off, fabric, halloween, hancock fabrics, notions, sale
better be on the look out ‘cuz i plan on tearing that place up, you hear me? there columbus day sale is going on this week and this weekend they will be having a major sale on patterns. mc call’s patters, butterick patterns and simplicity patterns are all $1. vogue patterns are $3.99. i couldn’t be more excited. especially since i got me a preferred customer card… #tdfun!
i got approached with an offer from a friend of a friend to make his halloween costume (he wants to be kurt from glee as lady gaga) and so i may be able to work it out so that instead of getting “paid” he just buys me all i need from hancock’s. i mean, that’s all i was gonna use the money for anyways. lolz. i already stalked the website and got my list together so honey, i am ready to go. but i can’t forget about fabric or notions*. 30% off fabrics and wait for it… 50% off notions… all of them! iFaint! iSwoon! iRegain composure… but yea, i have to get my stuff together for my own halloween costume, my client’s outfits and my friend’s outfit for her photo shoot later this month. oh, the photo shoot… man, its about to be fantastic! my outfit for her is a surprise but i’m sure she’s gonna like it. its gonna press her to step outta her comfort zone but i’m dying to make it and its gonna look so fab she won’t even notice.
but yea, i can’t even begin to express how badly i want stuff to work out this year. i only have 2 months to finish accomplishing all that i am trying to accomplish and there is still so much work to do. but i have faith! i shall overcome!!
womentrepreneurship pt 2…
06 Oct 2010 Leave a Comment
as crazy as it sounds, i left my part time retail job in july of 2009 and to some people it was the stupidest thing i could have ever done. “you were getting paid so well.” “you had the best benefits.” “they are a wonderful company to work for, why would you leave?” while all of these things were true, i still signed those papers, accepted my last check and roll bounced my way up out of there. why? because I didn’t feel that the company as a whole was benefiting from me being there. yea, my store was doing ok as far as profit records went but that was it. there was no direct correlation of how well i was doing to how good i felt about working there and that was a major issue with me. plus, deep down i felt like i could do better by myself. half of the garments we sold, i could make. a few things, i could make better but that is beside the point. i just felt like that job was not what i wanted.
what I was looking for was a career and in part of my career plans lay the desire to be self employed. i want to make my employer (in the most recent case, myself) wealthy not the other way around. i don’t want to have to work to earn my keep and that’s exactly what working retail had me feeling like i was doing. so i dipped. it wasn’t easy at first. i had to file for unemployment and even contemplated getting food stamps to help offset some of my loss. to my great fortune, six months after i left retail, i was approached with an offer. i was asked to create a one of a kind piece for a friend for payment. it was my first paid gig and i must say it saved my life. just when i was getting ready to give up, i was saved! from that moment on i was everywhere fashion was needed. school productions, friends, family, friends of family and family of friends were all hitting me up and it is great!
so here I am, a year and some odd months later, i have a little more experience under my belt and I am forever learning more and more about this business of being an womentrepreneur. i am not yet completely self-sufficient to where my business is my main source of income but I am looking to get there very soon!
with that i say, i’m diva b. and i’m a [womentrepreneur]!
what is a womentrepreneur??…
05 Oct 2010 Leave a Comment
in business, fashion, life Tags: business journey, fashion indusrty, recession proofing, starting a business, womentrepreneur
(pron: wom-on-tre praˈnaur)
this post was inspired by my very good friend of mine, shawtel asemota of soa event concepts llc and writer of http://theunemployedentrepreneur.blogspot.com/. she has truly been an inspiration to me.
today’s topic: successfully leaving the dead end work force to pursue your dreams.
as we have been told it’s a recession going on out there in the real world. there are barely enough jobs out there for everybody and here am i trying to give you tips on how to leave the little piece of job you have but before you hit me with the side eye, hear me out. yes, there aren’t enough jobs out there so my question is why wait around? i mean, your bill collectors aren’t going to stop calling just because you ask them to. no one wants to hear “when I get it, you will get it,” especially since they can get their money however and whenever they please whether you like it or not, but i digress.
back to my point, these are the best times to start your own business. if you can’t just up and leave your place of employment because of certain financial obligations then by all means stick with it, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up on or delay your dreams. how about for all of you who may be scraping for extra house at your part time job, try taking fewer hours a week and use some of that extra time to get your business plan together. figure out all what it is you can do that has potential to be profitable. do you sing, dance, paint/draw? can you make things? these are a few talents that can be profitable.
now that we’ve gotten the ball rolling on that one, here is another question for you. is your new founded talent based business cost effective? if its cost you $200 to finish one project but you are only getting about $50 a month to fund this new business, after paying bills that is, is this something you need to continue doing? this brings me to lesson numero uno: there is nothing wrong with starting small and working your way up. i personally love that about the current state of my growing business. i feel like i am benefiting the most from all this work i am putting in now because when i get to that point of extreme fame and fortune i don’t know how hands on i am going to continue to be. i don’t mind taking minor tailoring and alteration job here and there, they help fine tune skills you already process while helping to build my brand and reputation…
*stay tuned for another episode of the adventures of the unemployed womentrepreneur!
**special shout out to soa event concepts llc! you can find her at www.twitter.com/SOAEventConcept and at http://theunemployedentrepreneur.blogspot.com
daily designer dilemmas…
04 Oct 2010 Leave a Comment
in dilemma, fabrics, fashion Tags: 3D, bathing suit lining, dilemma, fabric, machines
so i am going to start a new series called, fashion: daily designer dilemmas or “fashion 3D”
so my first dilemma came up this past friday evening. i have a new client that is looking to start an on going contract of projects with me and she happens to be an acquaintance of sorts so i know i have to do a phenomenal job. i was hella excited and looked forward to starting on project numero uno. it was to be a v-neck dress with puffed and shirred sleeves and a shaped waist band. i bought the pattern i needed (or the one i thought i needed at the moment) and took her measurements and was well on my way.
i got started on the dress but after only a day in my client decided to change her original request. she no longer wanted the banded bodice pieces. i thought that would have been my only issue but much to my surprise it was only the tip of the iceberg. so i proceed to redo the bodice pattern and then cut out my piece. i have them all cut and ready to go for her fitting and bam, here comes the coup de gras! no matter what stitch size, tension rate, or stitch choice, it turns out the fabric is unstitchable. no seam is staying sturdy what so ever. first i thought it was the type of tread. after trying it out a few more times, i caught a ride with a friend and got not one but two different types of thread. when neither of them worked i slowly fell into a panic. she needed that dress for that night and i wasn’t even able to finish one seam!
so what happened you ask? well after sitting there with this look of despair written all over my face, i guessed that whilst in the fabric store the wrong fabric, in the right color, got chosen. instead of a nice knit cotton i had wanted, we got a nylon blend of sorts (i.e. bathing suit lining). at the exact moment i realized what had happened, all i could hear was my 11th grade pattern making teacher telling us about how bathing suits require a special machine to sew. [cue ah-ha moment...now!] yes friends i couldn’t sew the pieces together because i didn’t have the right machine. the euro-pro i have is great, fantabulous even, with denim (up to 8 layers), cotton, and silk. but it was no match for the teal bathing suit lining we accidentally purchased.
this was not my ideal first encounter with this new client, so after realizing what went wrong, i called her up, explained the situation at hand and she was understanding, yet i still heard the disappointment in her voice and that made me sick. i felt/feel so bad you don’t even know. i hope to make it up to her starting bright and early monday morning and creating a totally new piece that will knock her socks off!
so the lesson learned is: always double check before having the employees cut something. if they don’t know what it is you are planning to make they will cut whatever you put in front of them, and you know they don’t do refund on pre cut fabrics so you will be royally screwed if you don’t pay attention.
