Refinery 29 currently features Antony (singer of Antony and the Johnsons) in their "hot for" section. Refinery 29 is the BEST New York shopping guide. They map out every great boutique and are on top of every opening of cool new stores. I highly recommend checking out the site before your next shopping romp through NY.
In addition to shopping and fashion, the site features other cultural info, which brings us back to Antony. Their feature reminded me of this amazing video Nick Knight did a while back. ( The above photo is from the film) The video is posted on Nick's fashion broadcasting site SHOWstudio. The video is sooo beautiful and such a simple concept...
Spotted this on design sponge and had to post in the spirit of Philly pride. These take out cups were designed by Gina Triplett for Last Drop coffeehouse on 13th and Pine. Definitely the best coffee cups I've seen around...
What is it about cupcakes that makes them so darn cute? Although we are no longer six years old, there is still this desire to enjoy a tiny frosted cake. It's time we move beyond the can of frosting and sprinkles to a more sophisticated version of cute, however. I recently came across this blog cupcake bakeshop that shows us how to do just that. The little cakes look so yummy and the photography is really beautiful.
It's always a little suprising to see celebrities wearing Free People. These were posted on People's off the rack blog as part of a "fashion faceoff" where readers debate over who looks better in the same clothes. So silly...
PS I'm pretty sure we are sold out on this. It was from fall.
Free People is having a serious post holiday sale. Check it out here... Continue the spirit of gift giving, or give something to yourself! Happy shopping!
Do you live near a Free People store? A wide selection of our holiday display will be for sale after New Years! Visit the stores and ask for the details. I think you need a 150 pound teddy bear to keep you company in your studio apartment...
I am obsessed with this pompom rug! I found it on craftypod, a podcast blog written by Sister Diane of the Church of Craft. She posts weekly audio podcasts with craft tutorials and interviews with crafters, authors and such. Check it out, she features some really awesome projects. I really wish these were videos though! Especially for the tutorials.
Found via love forever.
Check out Susie Bubble's DIY instructions for creating your own "puff" skirt. You'll need a full circle skirt and some ribbons! If you do it just so, the skirt might even look cool both ways, with the puffs and untied with the ribbons just hanging. If you don't know Susie already, check her out. Her blog is definitely one of my favorites for fashion.
We had our anual holdiay party last night along with employees from Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie. There were so many festive activities, everyone had a great time. The photo above is of the sled filled with toys we collected for a toy drive to benefit Philadelphia children. Each department was assigned an age group to buy toys for, and then one group donated coats and mittens and such instead of toys.
The festive activities included virtual bobsledding...
Arctic arcade games...
A candy bar...
Here one of our Free People merchandisers enjoys some rope licorice...
There were two photo booths!
One in color and one black and white...
There were other cool activities I failed to get good pictures of. Maybe some other employees will send me theirs and I can post more. There was a faux ice skating rink! There was a special floor set down and sprayed with some sort of oil. Ice skates to wear were set up along the perimeter on one side, and a landscape of tinsel trees on the other. It was pretty crazy that the skates really worked on this floor. There was also a tarot card reader and pool tables...
The photo above is the crowd in the karaoke room. This was during an amazing rendition of "Bennie and the Jets" performed by one of the Urban boys.
And of course I had to post some of the festive attire. Miss Sarah of the Free People display team glammed up her heels with some serious glitter and jewels.
Miss the Bust Holiday Craftacular? This weekly video blog, the pink of perfection, has some moving pictures to share featuring interviews with both Bust magazine staff and crafters! I don't know how she managed to film this. It was a total madhouse in there. Any way, check out the site. She also features other fashion craftiness and lots of food too.
This is for any one in the Boston or LA areas... Craft events this weekend! Both LA and Boston fairs happening tomorrow the 16th. Check out details here. Below are some pictures from past events.
I must say, the selection looks super creative, more diverse than some shows I have been to. So, if anyone goes, leave a comment and let us know what you thought! Have fun...
Okay, so this is our first go at video on the blog. Try clicking here if it's not working well. (It's skippy, but then other times I open it, it plays perfectly.)This little movie was for a meeting at the home office to inspire and reinforce the idea that there is this certain "Free People girl" that we are constantly thinking about when we design. And even though there is this "girl", she really is a combination of everyone that works to make Free People a reality. A part of that girl lives within all of us...
The film was made in our office and our surrounding environment, the picturesque Navy Yard in Philly.
So if anyone has any tips on posting video, helpful comments would be much appreciated!
Just wanted to point out how cute our vintage needle cards turned out! Our graphic designer did the whimsical watercolors inspired by (I guess their name gives this away...) vintage needle cards. Some of the girls picked up a few originals last year at the Brimfield flea market in Massachusetts, and we've been waiting for Holiday to come so we could do a Free People version. Inside you'll find a single sewing needle.
We sent the cards out to wish happy holidays upon our extended Free People family (all of the other companies that support us or we partner with). In the photo, you can see Elizabeth in customer service has added her own hand touch to the envelopes as well!
The third issue of girly British mag lula is out! I know this is a magazine that has definitely been talked about among the designers at FP. The content is fashion mixed with beautiful whimsical fantasy and nostalgia. A magazine you'll want to book mark rather than tear out the pages...
It kind of amazes me when I take the time to actually read a magazine from cover to cover, and it becomes clear how connected everything is. Like in the interview with the designers from clothing line Lover, they talked about being inspired by Marianne Faithfull's biography. And then toward the back, there is an interview with Marianne Faithfull herself. How suddenly certain trends, interests, people, just emerge as important to a place in time...
A group of girls that work in our two stores near Philly ( King of Prussia and Suburban Square) along with one store employee recently promoted to the home office (congrats!) all went to see the weepies this week. They heard of the singer songwriter team because the home office had sent them the CD to play in their stores! They ended up talking to Deb and Steve (from the weepies) after the show and the girls told them the story of how they all knew each other and how they discovered their music. Deb was excited because she said half of her closet is Free People! It's funny how things get connected...
Meet Amy! She is a pioneer. Amy is the first Free People designer to take a full time position overseas. Most of our designers travel regularly to the factories to over see product development, develop relationships with our vendors, and learn about how to improve our products with the resources each factory has available. Amy is working for us in Hong Kong where she can work hand in hand with our factories on a day to day basis. Previous to her move, she was working in Philadelphia as our sweater designer.
In this photo, Amy sits where a woman that specializes in hand knitting usually sits. Amy works with her to experiment with new yarns and techniques.
Here Amy is fitting one of our hand knit sweater samples on Sally, a girl she works with at the factory.
Here is a photo of where Amy keeps all the FP yarns. It is right near the sample room, so she has easy access to choose yarns for knitdowns.
Here is one of the factory employees working on a swatch. This machine is a 12 gauge handflat knitting machine.
And here is Amy writing a spec in an office of one of the three factories she works with the most.
Hopefully Amy will continue to send us news from Hong Kong. I'm really excited to see pictures of where she lives, the culture and fashion! So stay tuned for more news from China!
Congratulations to Aileen for winning her wishlist on freepeople.com! She was the lucky girl that won $1000 worth of items on her FP wishlist. One item she couldn't wait to get was the Re-In-Vented Coat. She said she fell in love with the unique details, like the buttons and the vent. Other favorites on her list...the Soft Military Pocket Slim Pant in Indigo, Yoke Cowl Dropwaist in Strawberry and Deep Plum... basics with an edge she says.
Aileen's choices were influenced by a recent move to San Fransisco, "so I went for pieces that would help keep me toasty throughout the winter months." She said she loves Free People for the "Detailed pieces that are unique and fun. They help me retain my youthful glow." Enjoy all of you new clothes, Aileen!
I also want to congratulate the following who won $100 gift cards!
Danielle, Jordan, Natalie, Sarah, and Skye!!!!!!!
Click here to learn about creating your own Free People wishlist. (This is an awesome way to let relatives know what you have your eye on for holiday gifts...)
If you are in the NYC area, I highly suggest making the trek to Brooklyn for Bust Magazine's Holiday Craftacular this Saturday. I found loads of great crafty gifts last year, and it's totally inspiring to see so many talented people selling their handmades.
Here's a picture of last year's crowd. It's a serious party with with music spun by DJs Dirty Jean, Amylulita, Lady Byrd, Peppermintwist, Ultra V, Mahssa, and Miss Modular plus free drinks and a raffle with great prizes. See you there!
The one shoulder dress was shown all over the runways for spring, but it seems like fashion is moving so fast that the trend has arrived before the season! Here is the Free People version in an easy to wear knit embellished with embroidery and beading.
Also wanted to give a bit of info on this beautiful yellow background our creative assistant painted. It was inspired by our Bali concept, so she looked at lots of different batik sarongs for pattern ideas. The way she executed it kind of relates to the batik technique as well. She layed down a bunch of sticks and draped string all around and taped these down. She then rolled paint over these textures and pulled them off after painting. She used the pattern created by the resist to embellish with more color. She admits the process took her more time than necessary, but she has truly made a work of art!
