Custom Sets and Horse Bibs

There isn't anything better than sewing up tiny items for babies that haven't arrived yet... and even better are babies I am related to! These two sets are for my little niece who is arriving this spring. They are both big into camping and wanted to stay away from typical girly colors, so I used my camping fabric to make a birdie bib and onesie for them. My sister-in-law Kelly LOVES peacocks, so I searched high and low for this great peacock fabric and make a mushroom bib and onesie out of it. I simply cannot WAIT to see my little niece wearing them! Actually I can't wait to HOLD her, but that's another story!

I also shipped off an order to my favorite horse tack shop, Millbrook Tack in Michigan! They carry a lot of my horse bibs (that's bibs with horses ON them, not bibs FOR horses!) and they recently got this shipment of 8 new bibs. Stop by if you need a great baby gift for those horse-loving friends of yours!
We're getting our list of summer craft shows together and I think it's going to be a great summer! We're trying out a few new ones and going back to a bunch of oldies but goodies! Stay tuned!

jesi

p.s. I'm now on Twitter! Follow me @HipViolet!

Hip Hip Hurray!!

Guess where I'm posting this from? MY NEW SEWING ROOM!! Yippie!!!

Just to refresh your memory, here is where I did all of my sewing before (better known as the Dining Room)

And now... TA DA! Here is where I get to sew NOW!
(please note my daughter Violet on the left - she picked out her clothes allll by herself today!)

I lucked out too - the desk used to sew on fit PERFECTLY into my little "shipping nook" on the left... with an inch to spare! To the right is the closet which someday will have doors and shelves.

My big, huge table to work at. Sure beats the teeny area had to clear off every time in my old room! I can actually have all my gear out for each project at once, AND cut fabric without moving over to the dining room table! Underneath the table are some of my bins for blank onesies and shirts.
Fabric!! And my current inventory of clothing which will go on a real rack as soon as I put it together.

Today also happened to be a day when Violet is home sick from daycare, so we set her up a little chair and tv so she can rest (and get her fill of movies!)Speaking of Violet, yesterday she told me she didn't want to watch a movie during her "quiet time" and instead wanted to watch me sew (awww!). Instead of watching, I put her to work! She did a really great job taking all the pins out of the bibs after they were sewn to the fleece backs. I'm trying not to get too excited about the fact that she is interested in sewing, but it sure would be fun if one or both of my girls ended up wanting to help!

I'm off to sew in my new room! Have a great day!
jesi

p.s. Denver-area moms - I'll be at The Village at Edgewater on Wednesday, March 9 from 10:30-4:00 with all my Hip Violet stuff. Stop by and let the kiddos play while you shop!

Fabric Drive to help the African Community Center

A few weeks ago I was introduced to Ashley from the African Community Center of Denver - she was hoping to find some better craft shows in the area and I have been to a few! Ashley runs a sewing class at the ACC in Denver who teaches refugees how to sew. They make wallets, computer cases, pillowcases and handbags and sell them at local craft shows. I had a really nice conversation with Ashley and found out they run almost exclusively on donations which allows the most profit to go to the women who are working.

"We Made This is an income generating project at the African Community Center. ACC, which enables men and women in the refugee community to work together to create 100% recycled hand-sewn items. In an effort to learn new skills, work, and become a part of the community , we sew these items from recycled fabric donated to our center. Through the project, we learn and develop employable skills and create a sustainable community together.

We are working as a collective. From the person who sews the bag to the person who delivers the items to the store, we all get a percentage of the cost of this bag. Proceeds support a special refugee fund for the We Made This project and participants."

Check out their website here.

This week I went to visit and drop off some fabric and an extra sewing machine that I couldn't use. It was really cool to see the room they sew in, meet some of the ladies and watch them work!

Sewing Room at the African Community Center

Rachel teaching the ladies how to sew from a pattern

Tons of cool "vintage" sewing machines in use at the ACC.

Some of the beautiful items they have been making!

As I mentioned before, they run almost exclusively on donations so they can pass the profit on to the refugees, most of whom are on government assistance and can use every bit of help they can get.

Here is where YOU come in! I would love to encourage you to donate supplies, gift cards, or just some good vibes to the African Community Center! Below is a list of supplies they could use - I will be gathering these supplies until the end of February along with other members of the Denver Handmade Alliance. I would love it if you would join in!

• Cotton Fabric (no knits or decorator fabric)
• Needles (machine and hand stitching)
• Thread (all colors)
• Rotary Cutters & Blades
• Sewing Measuring Tapes
• Quilting Batting
• Buttons
• Self-Healing Boards
• Interfacing
• Extension Cords
• Sewing Machines (broken & older ones are okay!)
• Gift Cards to Joann Fabrics & Hancock Fabrics

If you have any of these items that you would be willing to donate, please let me know! If you are local, you can drop them off at my house or I can pick them up. If you are not local to Denver and still want to help, you can send items to me or straight to the ACC. Contact me through my Facebook page for my address or for more information!

I'm so excited about the opportunity to help this organization and these women! I know our crafting community can come together and really make a difference!

jesi

p.s. on another exciting note, there is a good chance I will be hiring one of their graduates to come and work for me once my basement studio is finished! I got to meet her at my visit and I can't WAIT to see how it goes!

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

I can finally see it! A glimmer of light at the end of my Craft Room tunnel :)

Hip Violet Headquarters has always been in a little corner of my living room. It started in the corner of our rental in Denver where we lived the first year, and moved to the dining room of our new house about 2 years ago. It's a pretty tiny space, as craft spaces go, but over the years I got pretty good at organizing and making the most of the space I was lucky enough to have. Here are some pictures of my current work space:
Yes, I sew under the light of a fancy chandelier!It looks pretty good in these pictures because I cleaned it up... Normally there are piles and piles (and PILES) of stuff. Currently my pile of fleece is only about a foot away from the ceiling :). It's a tight space and I NEVER have enough room to store everything I need. Plus if I need to cut things out (fleece, my bib pattern out of fabric) I need to use my kitchen table which isn't always cleaned off or clean!

This house DOES have basement (yay!) but it had some issues before we bought it so they had to gut the whole thing down to the stud walls. So even though we have the SPACE for a studio/office for me, it wasn't nearly ready. And due to time and financial constraints these last few years it's been slow going.

Here is how it looked when we moved in:
Then in September of this year my husband (who is a carpenter and generally handy person - lucky me!) put up the stud walls.This is the North wall with what will be my little shipping "nook" and closet.

A few weeks ago he was able to get the electrical figured out, put in 6 new lights, and insulated.
And today. Today was HUGE! We now have drywall!! It looks like an actual ROOM!!! I can't stop going down there and smiling!

North wallThis room is approximately FOUR TIMES the size of my current work area. Do you know how GREAT it's going to be when I'm moved in? I can hardly wait! It will probably be a few more weeks until I can start moving (which is fine since I'm trying not to sew much this month!), and when I do it will be a little bare-bones for a while. Eventually my husband is going to build a wall of cubbies and a desk on the South wall, and I'll have a large cutting/ironing table on the West wall with lots of storage underneath.

So there you have it. I'm hoping by February I have a real live sewing studio! I think it's going to be a whole new chapter in the Hip Violet book and I can't WAIT to start it! YAY!!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

Hi everyone!

Ah yes, change is in the air :) With the new year I've decided to make some changes to Hip Violet and I would love love LOVE your opinion them! As added incentive to get your feedback, if you post a comment here on my blog, you will be entered to win a FREE Hip Violet item!

So here goes!

1) Price Change
I love designing and sewing up my items - I really do! But it has become pretty apparent over the last few months that I need to put my prices up in order to stay in business. Starting January 1st all of my appliqued bibs and short-sleeved apparel will be $18 (previously $15) and all long-sleeved apparel will be $20 (previously $17).

Now I know a lot of you really love the size and fit of my bibs but didn't necessarily need the fancy applique (or the cost of adding it!). I've got your answer! I am going to offer a new "budget" version of my bibs that do not have an applique. Same great size, snaps and quality crafts-woman-ship, but offered at $12 so you can stock up! Looks for them soon on my Etsy shop! And if anyone has a great name idea for these bibs, let me know! Maybe Thrifty Clean Bibs? Bargain Bib? Economical Eater? Cheap n' Clean?

2) Apparel
I have really been struggling with my appliqued apparel and if I should continue to sell it or not. I really love doing it as it seems to be a good option for people with kids older than bib-age, but I have a lot of trouble finding blank shirts, keeping a full inventory of the multitude of sizes needed for kids apparel, and even with how to display it all at craft shows and online.

If I did decide to discontinue apparel sales, it would not be until later this year as I have a big inventory of blanks at the moment. I would also still offer them as a custom order.

What do you think?

3) Custom Orders
I really love that I can offer custom items for special occasions, and I plan on continuing to offer this service. However starting in January I will only be taking 3 custom order "slots" per month. If you are interested in a custom order, let me know and I'll get you on the list for the month of your choice. Once it is your turn, you can order up to 5 items at a time. The running list of custom slots will be on the right sidebar on this blog.

4) Wholesale Orders
Currently I have 5 super-fantastic wholesale accounts, but I'm looking to add a few more this year. If you know of a really cool boutique that you think my bibs would be a good fit for, please let me know! I am currently looking for places outside of the Denver area as I think I have plenty here!

Thanks so much for reading this far! Make sure to post a comment - I not only would LOVE to hear your opinions on any/all of the above issues, but you'll also be entered into a drawing for a FREE Hip Violet item!

Thanks again!
jesi

Meet the Newest Hip Violet Family Member...

I'd like to introduce you to someone. She and I are going to be spending a LOT of time together...

This is my new-to-me Bernina 530 Record. It may not be the most beautiful, high-tech machine (I think it's another 1970's model), but MAN can it sew!

I had one of my worst fears come true late last week. I was sewing for my biggest show of the year (Holiday Handmade in Denver) when at 11:30pm the night before the show with a STACK of shirts waiting to be appliqued... my trusty Bernina 810 died. REALLY died. I'm pretty sure the motor is busted. After a few &$*@&$ I got my backup machine from the basement, relearned how to sew on it, and finished up my work. The backup is fine, just SUPER slow and weird and loud. And it doesn't do NEARLY as good of a job as my Bernina.

Then I did what any Vintage Bernina Loving Person would do. At 3am, I searched my local Craigslist to see if there were any for sale :) And I found this one.

No frills here!But look at that niiiiiice stitch. And did I mention how QUIET it is to sew on? I think I may even be able to TALK to my husband while I'm sewing!
And the best part? Check out the carrying case! Of course there won't be a lot of carrying. She is a BEAST!!! I cannot believe how heavy these old metal machines are! I need some help naming her. She is in rough shape as far as cosmetics go and is old. Any ideas?

Speaking of Holiday Handmade, here are some pics from the show! It was at THE most beautiful craft show venue - the Sherman Events Center in Denver. I think it used to be a Greek Orthodox Church. Every inch was covered in something decorative!

You can sort of see my booth on the left-hand side. I'm in the second row on the corner.
Birds-eye view! I was so lucky to have a corner booth!
I had a REALLY great show - my best yet! It was my first show doing something a little different - usually all my bibs are one-of-a-kind but that was causing some odd issues so I decided to do 3-of-a-kind on each bib and when one sold, just took out another one of the same. It worked GREAT! It was really fun to see which bibs sold the fastest (I had a few where they would sell within a few minutes of being out - crazy!), and I actually think having less choices for people was better so they weren't overwhelmed with so many!

Speaking of designs, below are a few of my Holiday Bibs. Most are available through my Etsy shop. They would make a great gift OR the perfect thing to cover up your own baby and their adorable holiday clothes at mealtimes!

I also have two Hanukkah bibs. Check them out!

One more show of the year and then I'm done for a while - come and check out Firefly Handmade in Boulder this weekend!

See you there!
jesi

Holiday Open House!

You're invited to our Holiday Open House! There are two dates and locations to choose from - we'd love to see you! We're your one-stop-shop for holiday gift giving - both Hip Violet and marmalade creations will have our entire inventories available and they make great gifts!
Can't make it to the parties? Check out the other awesome shows we'll be at this holiday season on the list to the right. They include Fancy Tiger's Holiday Handmade as well as Boulder's Firefly Market.

See you there!
jesi