Designing for Etsy...

I am so excited.  My husband an I just finished making all the little adjustments needed to make my Etsy banner work.  You would think that with two artists who work mostly digital this should have been a breeze.  Not so!  The crazy restrictions Etsy has placed on the size of the banner have made it practically impossible to work within the usual logo design rules.  Etsy calls it a banner when it's really an icon. Anything that is 100 pixels, yes pixels high is an icon.  Too small to be called anything else.

When I read 'banner' I thought logo not icon.  It took much longer to design around the restricted size then either of us expected.  Drawing letters and the little fox mask just one pixel at a time.  Tedious but I think worth it.

I really wanted something that spoke to the Japanese culture that is such a big part of the inspiration for my store.  After hours of searching for ideas I came upon some images of Noh masks but I didn't love most of the designs for a store identity.  I really wanted something more accessible and pretty.  Then we remembered a japanese anime called "Kakurenbo".  It's a spooky little story but the children in it all wore the most amazing masks.  All this research evolved into a Kitsune Noh style mask.  Kitsune is a fox in Japanese lore.  I will explain Kitsune a little.  The best way is by using an excerpt from the book Kitsune.

"Kitsune is an animal supposed to be mysterious, fascinating, and mischevious. And is believed to be very grateful for the kindness done to him, as seen in many tales, and is also affectionate as revealed in some dramas. He is enshrined as a god because of his supernatural power. He is endowed with the subtle art of metamorphosis, and he is able to bewitch men in the guise of a charming girl. An exceedingly interesting and entertaining beast Kitsune is."

There is much more but that is the general idea.  Here is the link to my Etsy store with the banner in place http://www.etsy.com/shop/RePurposeHistory?ref=pr_shop.

 

Planning and designing

I've been sick for the last three days with food poisoning, yuck.  It's been pretty awful and kinda wonderful at the same time.  What!!  Ok I have to explain that part because I'm really not that crazy.  Food poisoning meant fevers and sleeplessness and some things that are just too much information.    Doing a lot of television channel hopping and couldn't really find anything to hold my interest so I ended up watching one of those horrible wedding dress shows in re-runs.  This got me remembering how much I use to enjoy working with brides, designing and sewing their wedding gowns.  A plan came to mind and I started sketching a couple of gown designs.  This one of a kind wedding dress is being made specifically for my etsy store.  I hope to have it complete for the grand opening.

This morning I'm sipping a yummy latte (made by my awesome husband) and surfing the internet for a little while before starting my workday.  I head over to the bay to hunt for the perfect kimono fabric for the wedding gown.  Lucky me, I found it in just a few short minutes.  As soon as I clicked on the photo I knew I had found the one.  This fabric spoke to me.  It's karieba/karinu furisode fabric.

Karieba/karinui is the cut pattern of the kimono roughly basted together.  It still needs unpicked, lined and finished to be worn as finished kimono.  Furisode is the most formal kimono of young unmarried woman it is most often seen at the Coming-of-Age Day ceremony when a girl turns 20.  It is easily recognized by the very long flowing sleeves, beautiful patterns and often has embroidery and hand painted designs.

While the fabric I chose is old and possibly vintage, it has never been worn and is in excellent condition.  I am trying to re-purpose damaged or un-wearable Japanese textiles into new jewelry and garments.  It would seem like unworn fabric wouldn't fall into this category but it does and this is why.  Chances are because this fabric has ended up on the bay that it will never be finished into the intended furisode.  The industry of kimono makers in Japan is sadly dwindling and I am unaware of many people in the United States who have the skills for the hand work required for kimono.  I am ecstatic to have purchased this gorgeous furisode bolt.  It will be a long fidgety couple weeks while I wait for delivery of the fabrics.

In the meantime I will begin drafting the pattern for the gown and working on the toile.  I like to have a few projects going at once.  It gives me time to step away and evaluate my process and design.

Here's a little peek at the images from the online store

I will try to obtain more information about the motifs in the fabric to share in a future post.