Pretty Presentation




It's such a nice feeling to open up a package or gift and know that someone took the time to wrap it or put in that extra special touch just for you. I'm pretty crafty, if I do say so myself (fun fact: the queen of crafting, Ms. Martha Stewart, and I share the same birthday. I met her once when I was in high school and I told her that!) I wanted my clients to feel that crafters touch when they open up my work. This is a photo of how my orders are shipped. The envelopes change, as I try to recycle when possible, but this is what the order looks like inside. 

The print(s) are placed against a piece of foam core, so that the art work will not get bent. A wide piece of pink tulle is wrapped around the corners, to make sure the print doesn't move, then its tied into a pretty bow. It's completed with a little thank you card, this cute doily one is from etsy (sorry, I can't find the link for exact seller), I also sometimes use personalized wood grain ones from Paloma's Nest. I add a business card and it's ready to ship out.  

Client Photo



It's so exciting to see my work up in a clients home! A while back Heather from College Station, TX, sent me this picture of her bedroom. She ordered Lily, Global Girl, and Audrey from my etsy shop. They coordinate so nicely with her bedding. Thank you Heather! I love seeing the different ways people display my girls! 

Amazing Talent {Part 2}



When interviewing for a Designer job, prospective employers often ask that the candidate to do a project for them. Below is a "project" that my talented friend Renaldo Barnette recently did. They're so "downtown chic", I just love it! Especially the fantastic shoes, matte sequin fabric, and long necks!

Renaldo once worked for a company that has since folded, called Garfield Marks. Below is a mini collection that he designed for them. The girls are much more classic and conservative but still so chic! I could drool over his drawings all day, don't you just love them! I learned from the best.

Amazing Talent {Part 1}



Tonight I had dinner with Renaldo Barnette, a great friend of mine who happens to be an incredible Fashion Designer and Illustrator. Renaldo has designed for Tuleh, Anne Klein, Kai Milla, Ralph Lauren, and Badgley Mischka in addition to creating his own collection that won rave reviews in WWD.

Renaldo was my very first fashion professor at FIT, ten years ago (omg time fly's!) We became fast friends when fifteen minute class breaks turned into hour long dinners because we'd run out to grab a bite and end up getting lost in conversation. Needless to say being teachers pet did not make me popular among my classmates in that class.

Renaldo always has a sketchbook on hand and tonight was no exception. I love seeing what he's working on, and I'm sure you will too. He let me take photo's of his sketchbook to share here with you!



Stay tuned, I'll share more of his beautiful work tomorrow.

Bookmark it




I've been trying to come up with new products for my shop. This weekend while brunching with friends we were comparing book-club horror stories. (Surprisingly enough we had many!) It got me thinking about book related products like book plates and bookmarks. I love cute little paper goods, especially nice bookmarks. They're like the perfect accessory to a good book, and you look at it every time you pick up the book. I never understood people who used post-its or paper scraps, and don't even get me started on people who fold the corners of the pages to hold their spot! I decided to make some tonight and am selling them in sets of three. The last time I was in a book-club I gave a personalized bookmark to each member of the club. That was my thinking here, that they would be great to give as gifts, so I'm selling them in sets. One set is shown above and there is another one you can view in my shop

Book Time






Every now and then I receive emails through my etsy shop from aspiring illustrators and students asking for advice on fashion illustration. I've been asked everything from what my favorite marker brand is to what kind of classes I'd suggest taking to what books I'd recommend. Here are some great books from my collection:

The first book here was written by Steven Stipelman, Fashion Design Professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology. I was lucky enough to be taught by this amazing talent for four consecutive semesters. (It took a lot of schedule rearranging!) His book is an invaluable reference. The cover shown here is from the first edition, but more have been published since and each one with additional drawings. (A little birdie told me he's currently working on sketches for the next edition!)


20,000 Years of Fashion The History of Fashion and Personal Adornment is a great overview of the history of fashion from prehistoric costume to modern day fashion. It has hundreds of full color images of primary and secondary sources; photographs, paintings, sculptures and artifacts. It served as a text book for a Costume History course I took in college but I've continued to reference it through the years.

For unique examples of fashion illustrations of men, women and children created using a wide variety of media, The Big Book of Fashion Illustration is great. I bit the bullet and bought this book after sitting on the floor of the book store analyzing it page by page for over an hour!


Fashion Illustration Next is another book featuring really creative and artsy fashion illustrations in a multitude of mediums by 40 international illustrators.

My other books shown in the top photo of this post are: