November 7, 2009
guest blogger - part four
the fourth and final post from our guest blogger, dana of summer teeth...
thank you, thank you, thank you...these images are stunning.
November 6, 2009
siren nation
if you’re in the portland area this weekend, the 3rd annual siren nation women’s music and art festival is taking place through sunday. this year’s festival includes an art and craft sale showcasing women artisans from the northwest, an art show featuring local portland artists (female of course), a film festival featuring documentaries about four female pioneers in politics, performance, poetry and partisanship, and a music festival featuring an all female lineup.
siren nation's mission is to inspire and empower women of all ages to create their own art and to highlight the many achievements of women in the arts. the organization showcases and creates performance and exhibition opportunities for women throughout the year, and it is the only women’s collective that produces an annual festival showcasing the original work of women in music, film, performance and visual art.
for more info check out their website.
model perspective
one of my co-workers sent me this really cool video from the chanel spring/summer 2010 show during paris fashion week...they put a spy camera in the model's hair before her runway walk! it's really interesting to see from her perspective...
patches from india
i love the one-of-a-kind patched bf jeans we just got in, but i love ‘em even more now that i know the story behind them. read on for merrie’s story about the inspiration behind these unique, one-of-a-kind jeans.
“we recently met a young woman from kutch, a desert area in the state of gujarat in india. she had a huge collection of tribal embroideries, which we bought to piece with delicate embroidered net from a market in Delhi and patch onto vintage denim.
we have always loved making clothes out of vintage pieces, cutting them up and adding bits of trims from another era, some tribal embroidery or some old denim. we had already created a small workshop in india where we make most of our store fixtures...embroidered hangers, cane stools, dressing room curtains, beaded chandeliers...etc. adding a few sewing machines to that set-up seemed the next step.
now we are able to find assorted fabrics in the markets, collect trims we love, and put them in the newest silhouettes for the stores within a month or so of the initial inspiration. the assorted fabrics keep that one-of-a-kind feel, while making several of the same silhouette allows us to keep the prices reasonable.
we'll send a photo of our happy workshop soon. on any given day, there might be: men sitting under the mango trees, hand weaving cane stools for the showroom in new york...tailors sewing prototypes for our next fp one season...wood carvers making doors for our newest fp store...pinwheel makers sitting in the grass making hundreds of paper pinwheels for our next display...anshu the gardener's son studying his abc's...it is quite a group effort!”
thanks merrie! can’t wait to see some photos!
papercuts
2 of our knits designers recently traveled to tokyo. while they were there, they met up with their friend ryohei, a very talented artist.
he offered to do paper cuts of them during dinner, and they captured this awesome video of it.
the artist’s name is ryohei tanaka. he has some really amazing work on his website. check it out by clicking on the image below.
by the way, the song in the video is "happy endings" by pizzicato five.
applique your way
kayte terry, the crafty author behind the blog this is love forever, will be holding an appliqué workshop and book signing tomorrow at jimmystyle in philadelphia. the workshop takes place from noon to 1pm and participants get a hands-on demo with kayte and a kit with materials for three woodland animal-inspired felt ornaments like that cute owl above...then have her sign her new book appliqué your way!
for more info on the event and how to register for the workshop, click here.
November 5, 2009
kate hudson in gianna jacket!
check out kate hudson wearing our gianna jacket out to dinner in nyc...
she looks great, i love that coat.
lighten up
one of the best things about the holidays are the twinkling lights that decorate streets and houses…seeing them brings back that childhood anticipation of holidays, parties and the end and beginning of another year. color and light played a big role in our new catalog, and we’re lighting up our stores as well! our display team just finished installing the in-store holiday displays and shared some of the images that inspired them…
and here are the results! love the walls of lights…
can't wait to go see it in person!
thursday poll - edition 67
it's already time for the thursday poll again! last week's topic was rings, and the most votes went to the emerald wings ring, with 33%. this week we're starting to think about the upcoming holidays, and we want to know which party dress is on your wishlist...
vote, vote, vote!
guest blogger - part three
here's another gorgeous set of images from dana of summer teeth, to start out your day...
November 4, 2009
wednes-diy
in keeping with the photography theme of the day...did you ever have to make a pinhole camera at school when you were younger? i didn't, but i kind of wish i had. luckily someone at work showed me this site where you can download and print out a pdf of a cute little pinhole camera that you can make with just a few additional supplies.
plus, look how cool the photos can turn out...
to make your own pinhole camera, go to the website and download the pdf here!
i think i'm going to make one and decorate it to look very free people...if it turns out ok, i'll share on the blog :)
close-ups
rene micheli is a philadelphia photographer who did some of the close-up, fairytale-like shots in our november catalog. I was looking at her website and I really love the dreamy style of some of her portraits.
check out more of her work here.
new job alert!
free people is looking for an in-house hair/make-up artist to join our web team!
a candidate for this position should understand the free people aesthetic inside and out, and have creativity and technical skills to back them up. this person should have extensive experience in both hair and make-up for commercial and fashion photography. he or she should be able to produce fresh, innovative hair and make-up styles in a timely fashion. he or she should be experienced and prepared to groom one model daily for the FP.com and FPwholesale.com websites, and stand on set to ensure that the model looks her best in photographs throughout the day.
-have extensive knowledge of various hair/make-up tools/tricks of the trade
-should be able to stand on his/her feet for 8 hours.
-have experience working with all hair and skin types.
-be highly creative, keep a book of tears for inspiration.
-experience working in a studio setting.
-a hair and make-up kit will be provided.
-please come prepared with your portfolio.
if this sounds like you, please apply online here!
new catalog is out!
have you seen our new november catalog? it's so pretty and full of light...
the inspiration behind this catalog, with the holidays quickly approaching, was the play of light and color in the images. i like it because instead of feeling dark and cold like a lot of holiday stuff, it feels very warm and soft.
to get these cool effects they strung christmas lights in front of the camera...something i might have to try.
you can view the entire catalog here.
November 3, 2009
the story of neighbors and doormats...
there once was an artist who really wanted to encourage the neighborhood to get to know each other. so, he decided to help them. he gathered all of the neighborhood doormats and brought them to a gallery. the neighbors were stumped by the mysterious thievery. then, each neighbor received an invitation to come and get their property. later, they arrived at the gallery and saw that their doormats were much prettier together than apart. they began to talk and get to know each other – at least i hope that is how it turned out for the sake of kevin harman, the artist behind the installation...
http://www.kevinharman.co.uk/doormats.html
november mix tape
i'm home sick today :( ...but i made this playlist of songs that feel very november-ish (or have november in the title) and listening to it is making me feel a little bit better...hope you enjoy it!
tunesday...
i was in nyc this weekend and my friend/go-to for new music introduced me to lykke li. she exudes creativity and beauty. so far, "little bit" is my favorite song. hope you enjoy her as much as i do...
November 2, 2009
guest blogger - part two
images selected by dana of summer teeth. view part one of her post here.
this holiday season...be the center of attention
sometimes i'm amazed by the artistic abilities of the people who work here...this image was done by the very talented gal who was doing the blog before me.
monday quote
"keep on rockin' in the free world"
- neil young
(the spectrum's final farewell...10/31/09)