January 31, 2007
paper love forever
I love this entry on love forever about paper. I've noticed how paper art has been in the artistic consciousness more this year than in the past, from art exhibits to store displays (think Tord Boontje for Target!). And now that trend is moving a step ahead into more sculptural ideas. The mixed prints in these tears are so great. The way they have been used in interiors also makes me think of the popularity of wall paper and decals.
Definitely check out the blog love forever. She just posted a nice reflection on the art of blogging. And I agree, the act of blogging is totally related to craft and DIY!
January 29, 2007
built for two
Found this on notcot and thought it was clever. Designed by marc ownens. Check out more of his work here...
January 26, 2007
vintage for beach bunnies
Free People features swimsuits by designer Elissa Dunlop. Elissa's fun filled prints are inspired by vintage patterns found on polyester from the 60's and 70's. Check out this suit in three of her poppy prints...and her styles are limited in quantity, so you're unlikely to see any beach bunny clones running around. Her website is super cute and you can read her story about how she got started. Check out other FP swim suits here...
January 24, 2007
radical lace & subversive knitting
Opening in New York this week (on January 25th) at the Museum of Arts & Design, "Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting" features the work of 27 artists from 7 countries. Check out below quote from the website...
"Radical reformers in the world of knitting and lace making have overthrown the status quo from the inside out. In the space of ten years, knitting has emerged from the “loving hands at home” hobbyist’s den into museums and galleries worldwide. Knitting clubs meet in cities from San Francisco to Stockholm, while interactive knitting “performances” have been held in as seemingly unlikely places as the London Underground."
Fiber arts, especially knitting, have become so much more visible in the last few years and have really developed into an important symbol for a certain kind of youth culture. From the connection with the past to DIY values, this is sure to be a fascinating show.
These appear to be skulls circling the table...
* Photos from Museum of Arts & Design website.
January 23, 2007
the citizens band
If you live in LA, I am really really jealous right now. For anyone who has not heard of The Citizens Band, you want to check out their website immediately. A group of artists and performers making the most fantastical magical shows you can imagine featuring such beauties as Karen Elson, Zooey Deschanel and trapeze artist Sarah Sophie Flicker. Creating extraordinary works of art, the group expresses their concerns for our futures through reworking images of the past. So why am I jealous of those in LA? They are perfoming January 25th for $15!!!
Check out some of their posters...
January 22, 2007
pretty under things
Our latest catalog features a new addition to the Free People collection, Free People Intimates. There is a serious lack of cute underpinnings out there, so we have decided to do something about it. Offering some cozy soft basics as well as feminine flirty pieces that will look sweet and sexy peeking out from layers.
How great are these to wear to bed? And they're pretty enough to wear during the day too. The cami layered under tops and the boxers under tiny skirts to keep your bum covered.
And the bloomers are so perfect to layer under skirts and dresses. I like that you can wear them with a skirt or dress that maybe needs an update. The frilly lace peeking out can totally change the feeling of a piece you already have.
Find more intimates on our website.
January 19, 2007
swap inspiration
I was checking out some blogs written by participants in our Valentine Swap when I came across this amazingly creative idea. Amy from inspire co. has made this "eye candy" heart shaped box filled with buttons, trims, charms and embellishments. You can buy one on her site or get inspired and fill your own heart shaped box!
last chance to swap!
Last chance to participate in the Valentines craft swap! Please comment with your name, address and email. Let me know if you are opposed to shipping internationally and I will pair you with someone in the US. Get to making!
scroll down a few or go here for the details...
January 18, 2007
fake cake
Has anyone else noticed fake cakes around? Fred Flare is selling fake cakes hand made by Amy Sedaris as part of their Valentine's selection. And ReadyMade magazine featured Amy's instructions for a DIY fake cake in their love issue.
And then I saw this other cake on poppy. A felt cake that comes in a kit with all the embellishments you can arrange as you like. (Actually sold as a toy, but really pretty. Buy it here)
Amy Sedaris suggests making fake cakes and leaving them on your window sill to lure in friends from the street or as Valentine's gifts. I think they'd be a cool centerpiece to leave on the kitchen table. Anyway, that got me thinking a little more outside the box about what I could make for the Free People Valentine's Swap. Only one more day to sign up! Scroll down and send me your info!!!!!
January 16, 2007
strange similarity
A reader commented and pointed us to the strange similarity between Food & Wine's latest issue and a photo we posted about the Free People lunch club. It's really kind of bizarre. I can't believe she made the connection! Check out her blog.
January 15, 2007
landed gentry
Our inspiration for our early spring collection is called Landed Gentry. The designers were looking at a lot of dandy menswear and liked mixing it with super romantic femininity. The amazing illustration above was done by one of our designers.
Check your mailboxes! The newest catalog has dropped and should be getting to you any day now. See it on our website here and check out all the new product on the site.
The creative team played off of the romance of the collection and started gathering all sort of romantic ephemera, like old books and sheet music. The book above was inscribed "from Alfred to Kate" and they went with that theme, changing the theme to "from Kate to Alfred".
The creative team found an old feather quill pen in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania and brought it back for our graphic designer to play with. Here she is practicing her lettering. She ended up mastering the quill as you can witness in beautiful lettering in the Landed Gentry catalog. The pen itself even inspired the cover...
January 12, 2007
falling garden
Came across this incredible installation on love forever. The artists that created it are Gerda Steiner and Joer Lenzlinger but there site is not in English. From what I can gather from the million sites that feature them, the artists have done quite a few installations in this style. Here they have hung a mixture of natural elements like flowers and leaves along with fabled creatures from nature and mythology. Their Falling Garden was featured in the 2003 Venice Biennial elevating them to international celebrities. There is a nice description of the experience here...
January 11, 2007
valentine swap!!!
Ok, so back to this swap idea...(Scroll down a few entries to see the original post on this) We are sooo excited there are so many people interested in participating. We are definitely gonna get this rolling. I had originally planned on using swap-bot to orchestrate the swap, but it appears you have to participate in a swap and receive a good rating before you can host a swap. So it looks like I'm managing this myself.
Here's the deal...
Leave a comment on this post and be sure to included your name, address and email. I will not publish the comments, so the world (or fp blog readers to be more precise) will not all know your personal info. I will organize all the partnering and email everyone to let them know who their buddy is and where to send the Valentines loot.
The rules...
I think we should include international participants. I would be totally stoked to receive a handmade gift from an fp fan in Sweden or where ever. If you are totally against shipping internationally, say so in your comment when you leave your info. I won't pair you with someone out of the US.
Make anything you want on the theme of Valentines. Handmade cards, gift boxes, accessories, get creative.
You MUST respond to this post with your mailing info by Friday, January 19th. Goodies should be shipped before Wednesday February 7th so your partner receives by Vday.
Did I miss any important details??? Happy making!
And again about the above photo... I was wandering around on flickr and came across this book. I think it's absolutely incredible and had to post it. Here is the link to the site. I was informed this book was created by a group of artists as part of a "fat book" project. Each artist submitted a set of pages and one person compiled the book. Sounds really fun.
January 10, 2007
swinging trapeze
At freepeople.com we have quite a few flirty trapeze tops (as you might have noticed from yesterday's fp email). So I decided to do some research on how this silhouette originally came into fashion. Here are my discoveries...
Yves Saint Laurent was just 21 years old when he took over for Christian Dior in 1958. YSL blew Paris away with his first collection, the Trapeze Line. The innovative silhouette was characterized by very narrow shoulders and a fitted upper bodice that widened as it extended to a swinging triangular shape to the hem. The controversial collection was accepted by the most fashionable and the trapeze proved to be the biggest change in fashion since Christian Dior's own "New Look" in 1947. Above photo found here.
So in my research I came upon an archived article of Time magazine from 1958 explaining how the Trapeze Line had hit the US. It's pretty cool how it's documented on the internet like that.
Another fun discovery I made are these YSL paper dolls, with the looks well researched and featuring a rendering of one of his day dresses in the trapeze style. Get your own here.
January 9, 2007
vintage compacts
We are really excited about these belts we just put up on our website. The buckles are made from these incredible vintage compacts. If you bought a beautiful vintage compact, nobody would even see it except when you were powdering your nose. On a belt ( of Italian leather) everyone can see your great find. Each belt is one of a kind, designed and crafted by Jacqueline Rose.
January 6, 2007
far away lands
I finally got some photos of the new store display! (scroll down a few entries to see what it looked like when the team was creating it) The inspiration started with our "Trip to Bali" theme for the last part of our Holiday collection. So a lot of elements of the display are Bali inspired, but then they expanded that idea to a broader travel theme. The above world map was embellished with sequins, glitter, even coffee beans...
These collages made of post cards and travel brochures decorate the walls.
And these tissue paper flowers were made by the display team. The idea was inspired by a flower offering ceremony performed in Bali.
The multi colored flags of dyed muslin were also inspired by decorations for festivals in Bali. You might recognize these flags from the holiday catalog or from the background in some product photos on our website.
Here is the front window display. The glare makes it a little difficult to see, but they used these really amazing fringed umbrellas, also used in the holiday catalog shoot.
These shots are from our store in Suburban Square right outside Philly. This store has an amazing skylight that the display team has made even more beautiful with flower garlands from India. If you're near a store, go check it out for yourself!
January 4, 2007
be my valentine?
Since you guys are giving such great suggestions abou the blog and website (see post below) I wanted to bounce an idea off of you. What would you think about doing a swap with other Free People blog readers? Like maybe on a Valentine's theme?
If you are unfamiliar with swapping, here's how it would go... Any readers interested (and hopefully a bunch of Free People employees too!) would be paired up with another reader. You would hand make something for this person and send it in the mail. And someone else will be making you a suprise and sending it your way. I figure we all share a similar aesthetic, have a passion for the handmade, and who doesn't like getting mail?
So who's interested? Anyone have a better idea than handmade Valentines treasures? Let me know and I can start to figure out dates and how to coordinate everything...
About the above photo... I was wandering around on flickr and came across this book. I think it's absolutely incredible and had to post it. I'm not sure how "right" it is to post images from flickr, but here is the link to the artist.
January 3, 2007
the year to come
This is Bruce. Bruce wasn't getting enough exercise in his South Philly apartment, so he came to run around the Free People building.
So in the name of the new year, we'd like to share some of what's to come in 07. First of all, our website is in the process of being totally redesigned. A major visual overhaul will coexist with better navigation, better search tools, improved product images and an easier checkout process. Yay!
Another exciting thing to look forward to is our catalogs. We plan on doing some experimenting and maybe even producing more books than just once a season. So if you're not on the catalog list yet, now is the time!
And hopefully we can make some improvements to the blog, but we need your help! Leave us a comment and let us know what you'd like to see! What are you curious about, what can we do more of??
So Bruce learned a lesson. If you wander to the back corner, home of the creative team, you could emerge covered in bows and feathers...
January 2, 2007
sneak peek
Happy New Year! New year means new store display. These photos are from the display team's work room as they were preparing for the new concept. They install everything tonight, so hopefully I'll have some pictures tomorrow so you can see what all of this mess yields. A clue... the inspiration was based on traveling...
