there’s a sweet article about my work in the
fall ‘Witch’ issue of Enchanted Living..
happy to be featured amongst so many magic makers.
it really is packed to the brim with all kinds of
beauty, recipes, enchantment & interviews.

pick up a copy if you can, or check out their beautiful website:
https://enchantedlivingmagazine.com/

xo
S

meet my latest finished commission,
a special wedding dress for Kristy

it had been a good 5 years or so since I’d made
a black wedding dress, so this was a real treat.
|I’ve missed working in the Raven palette.

it’s funny how revealing commissions can be of
my own inclinations, though.. In the first part of making
this, I was getting very attached to this being all black!
Kristy really wanted some white, stripes and dark blues
worked in, as well as some special buttons and a locket.

I was kind of struggling for a bit with how to achieve
her preferences and follow my instincts. When it
came down to it, I just started placing the contrasting colours and adornments, trying them out.. and after a few hours of trial and error, it  started working. it became an avalanche, actually.

Buttons and hand stitches were calling out, me here! I go there!
and then it was just a matter of keeping up.
it’s such a relief when things start telling me
what to do, after getting the silent treatment for awhile.

The decollette’ has tiny black jet beads sewn in for shimmer factor.

there’s a secret pocket on the right, that starts where the
button is shining in the photo above.

I like the effect of the different stripes, and the eyelet. the buttons and flowers and lace too. it feels like many styles woven together..

it emanates western, goth, 90’s, victorian, fairy, rococo & industrial.
if you told me that I’d be making a dress that hit all those notes
before starting this, I prolly wouldn’t have believed you.

I really can’t wait to see this on the bride~
xo S

I just finished this custom skirt for Lizbeth~

it started out as a makeover but became a takeover,
and ended up becoming an entirely new being.

my friend says it reminds her of peeling wallpaper, which
I think is one of the best compliments ever!

I dove deep into the green fabric trunk, and used some of
my favourite antique & vintage velvets.

the golden brocade fabric happened at the very
last moment.. I had actually ‘finished’ and
photographed the skirt already without it, but
realized it wasn’t quite right. I got very sad and dramatic,
wreaking total chaos on my studio looking for the right
piece of fabric.. then I saw the brocade,
tried it, and heard the music :)

so happy to have found the puzzle piece &
that this beauty is complete!

xo S

made some beautiful new portraits last month~

this elven prince goes by the name of Kean Sanguine..
we are both Oakland- Olympia transplants &
knew eachother long ago from the underground
parties thrown by Katabatik in the bay area.
it’s neat and reassuring to re-meet people up here in
the northwest and see how they are making their lives
in this more forest / less city environment.

 I’m also find it very reassuring &
oddly healing to hang out with people and cover them
in leaves & dirt, arranging them in the forest
and capturing their beauty.
bringing out the elemental in people is becoming
one of my favourite pastimes.

Kean is a prominent DJ here in Olympia &
you can keep up with his sounds & shows on
soundcloud or facebook

til next time~

xo S

 Phine sent this coat to me in a bundle of clothes
to make over for her.. about 8 months ago :/
it usually doesn’t take me that long to get
going on a makeover but I just couldn’t get
the feel for what to do with this.

thank goodness she’s also an artist (so she understood)
in addition to being a very lovely & patient client.

a few nights ago, I walked by it & finally
got some instructions :)

and now it is reborn and it’s really, really lovely

here’s the lowdown:
I dyed it, replaced the zipper with one from a vintage coat,
brought in the sleeves to be more elegant,

replaced the stiff arm seams with stretch velvet..
added some spidery black lace,

I adjusted the hood a bit
& stitched some vintage trouser remnants to the cuffs,
to make the sleeves longer.

there’s a button option to wear it without the zipper  too.

the colour variance in the photos is driving me crazy,
some are taken with phone and some with
fancy camera. the true colour is kind of
in between the two :)

excited to have this beauty finished!

xo S

I made some quick portraits with my lovely friend Fern
a few weeks ago.. we got caught up talking for a long time
before the shoot and only had about 45 minutes of actual
photo time.. I was really impressed that we caught such
beautiful images in such a short session.

oh & it also started raining after about 10  minutes, haha.
thankfully Fern is seriously fae & seriously dedicated,
and was ok with laying around in the woods getting rained on.
my favourite kind of model :)

I love how the photos turned out, they feel so ethereal.
looking forward to making more magic with this beautiful faery.

xo S

finally finished this beauty last week..

I started this piece about 15 years ago!
realized quickly after starting it that my skill level
at the time wouldn’t match up with the vision..
so it got set aside for a long time.

very glad I waited, cause it has turned out
just how I imagined it, all those years ago.
a lot of Perfect materials started surfacing
in the last couple months.

stretch silk, tattered tablecloths, antique bedspread..
vintage slips & rosette dresses are all
worked in.

the tattered pink velvet on the torso was
a highly prized treasure in my fabric horde.
I still think it’s one of the loveliest things
I’ve ever found.. it was part of a very
tattered antique children’s snow hat.

it feels so light and elegant on, like wearing a rose petal dress.

it’s hard to let this one go.. but I am.
she’s now available for adoption in the shop

xo S