Welcome to hell

(thanks to Lisa for this)

The stuff of nightmares

Clearly, Orla Kiely never worked at a dead-end, soul-sucking, boring office job in the 70s. In a windowless, fluorescent-lit room with a horrible boss breathing down her neck. Having to use carbon paper and Wite-Out, for christ's sake. I could go on but I think I'll just go stab myself in the eye instead.

And that's my fashion comment for the day.

{Photos of Orla Kiely's AW 13 collection from the otherwise perfectly lovely blogs Kris Atomic and what's your tale nightingale.}

Progress...

Things for the shop, which is to be called Quotidienne, are progressing. I'm still planning to open some time next month.

My professional dress form (which for now will be my model), just arrived the other day. She needs a name-- any ideas?

I've received some beautiful scarves, and a few gorgeous handmade bags from the Netherlands will be on their way soon... and a local bag maker is working on a collaboration with me to make a small clutch. I spent part of an afternoon last week at her studio looking at leathers and talking design. It was a delight.

My studio has been cleaned and rearranged. One wall is covered in photographs of the clothing I'm considering for the shop. I want to see everything together, so it flows, and things can be worn together, even if they are from different designers. 

In the meantime, I am working 7 days a week... any free time is spent walking the greyhound, keeping my house relatively organized, doing yoga, and sleeping. I'm having a blast.

So here's the deal.

I haven't been posting much recently, as I've been very busy working on a "project", as they say. Actually, the project is giving myself a job. I've decided to start up an online clothing/accessories  boutique. It's going to start small, and modest, and I'll go from there. Fortunately, Portland is a mecca for the self-employed and DIY business community, plus there will be no sales tax!. I'm committed to selling well-made things that are more minimalist than trendy, and beautifully designed. I'm also trying, as much as possible, to source things that are made in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. (I'm considering a couple of items that are made in China but with environmental/sustainable/ethical practices. We'll see.)

I'm hoping to open in March, but much depends on the shipping/manufacturing schedules of the designers I'm working with. This is all still in the works. And it's a one-woman operation, so I'm learning a lot of new skills (happily, I love learning new things). It's a risky thing to do, so I'm throwing everything I have into this.

There will be a blog that accompanies the shop, but it will focus on the designers, the clothes, and other style-related topics. I'll still be posting here, though, for the time being.

So, if you know of any small-scale, independent designers that you think I should know about, please comment! (You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find someone making good, simple, comfortable  trousers and skirts that don't cost a million dollars.) I've been researching extensively and for a long time, but there are always new things starting up. And someone may be local to you but wanting to expand... My only requirements are that it has to be designed with a minimalist sensibility-- well-made, good material, and unfussy.