coming up for air

I'll be back with a proper blog post later this week (hopefully), but for now I am buried under piles of wool and leather and zippers and have vowed to put everything else aside (except the ever important laundry and cooking) until I finish these 40 pouches.  

After the pouches, of course, comes more scarves and bow ties, probably in multiples of ten.  

The goal for this November: make it through.  

Anyone else notice my shop name change?  I've had several conversations about it this week and realize that I need to fill everyone in soon.  More on that next week!

fall/winter 2013 bow tie collection

Friends, we have some seriously awesome bow ties in the shop for fall and winter.  Awesome like I can't even pick a favorite.  Or three favorites.  So I'm just going to show you all of them.  

The world map tie is back and as popular as ever.  I bought enough of this map fabric back in July to last through the holidays.  At least I thought I did.  Once I ran out of that yardage (in September), I found another bit that will hopefully last me another month or so.  It's kind of like a scavenger hunt, buying fabric.  (Exciting side note: this fabric will soon be available in two sizes of leather bottom pouches as well!)

This orange and navy I chose because I love the bold colors, and then later realized that it would be perfect for an Auburn or UVA fan.  Not that I'm endorsing UVA fans, but business is business.  

The typeface tie was a wildcard and I've been a bit surprised by how popular it is.  I've had to go hunting for more of this once or twice too, but now we are stocked up for the season.  I love how the graphic black and white can work with any color shirt or jacket.  

Mint green continues to be a popular color this year, especially for weddings.  I didn't know if I'd find a winter counterpart to my mint seersucker tie, but this cotton wale pique works really well for the cooler months.  I also have some in red, for the Christmas tie crowd.  

I'm on a big mustard yellow kick this fall and would wear this tie myself, if I could.  In fact, I wish it were a shirt.  In fact, maybe I need to get serious about learning to make my own shirts.  But until then, I can just enjoy having this cheerful checked tie around, brightening up the office.  

So that's the starting lineup!  I have other ties in the shop too, but these are the newest batch.  We're working on some lovely packaging as well, so any gift ties will arrive ready to give!

It's hard to believe that tomorrow is November.  We're looking forward to a quiet weekend, hopefully involving time on the patio and pumpkin frozen yogurt.  I'll meet you back here next week!

fall/winter 2013 scarf collection

In honor of the fact that the temperature is supposed to remain well below 70 degrees today, I thought I'd do a thorough going-over of the new scarf collection that is in the shop.  It's pretty fabulous and I love that each one brings something very different to the table.  

First up is the plaid, which has such a surprising color palette that it took me a few glances at the fabric to realize how great it is.  But then I realized and bought a whole bolt, because I feel like other people are going to realize too.  Deep eggplant, electric blue, and bronze, with a snazzy bronze edge = trendy, without being predictable.  Also, who doesn't love plaid? 

Here we have the other more casual scarf, the maroon and orange check.  In addition to being the perfect fall colors, maroon and orange are also our school colors (go Hokies!), so we are, obviously, crazy for this one.  

I think that every man should own a great black and white scarf and I love this mixture of different sizes of hounds tooth- so much more interesting than just one size!  A black and white scarf matches almost everything and looks sharp with a black or gray coat for work.  

Last up, and possibly our favorite scarf this year, is the green herringbone.  I'm a sucker for herringbone anyway, but finding one in this vibrant green was such a huge stroke of luck.  It has the polished look of wool too, but is actually 100% cotton like all the rest of the scarves.  

In the past, we've carried a few wool and a few cotton scarves, but this year we've gone all cotton.  It's so much nicer against your skin, which I consider a huge deal, plus it's machine washable!  

I think that scarves make such great gifts- they're personal, but you don't have to worry about size or fit. Men can be difficult to shop for anyway, so I love hearing from people around the holidays that they are ordering my scarves for their dads, husbands, brothers.  And this year, you can order matching father-son scarves, which would be so cute for family photos- just enough matching without being weird.  (Side note: I was allowed to pick the outfits for a family photo once when I was 11 and we all ended up in red turtlenecks and denim.  Not my finest moment.)  

Today, we're running errands and I have a stack of ironing to tackle.  It's cool and gray and I'm getting excited that I might need my slippers soon!

bow ties make me want to have another wedding

It's wild around here, people.  Wild, I tell you. 

 

We had (another) big weekend.  I stitched bow ties until my fingers were sore on Friday night while we caught up on shows on Hulu.  Then I finished the ties on Saturday in the waiting room of Tire Kingdom.  I don't want to brag, but I'm pretty sure I'm the only person who has ever stitched bow ties in the waiting room of Tire Kingdom.  At least that's what I'm assuming based on the looks I was getting. 

 

Some of these ties, specifically the seersucker, (oh!  the seersucker!) make me wish I was planning our wedding again so that I could incorporate them.  I may have to settle for an anniversary party where I force the guests to wear bow ties.  I'll keep you posted. 

We finished painting the dresser and have let it come in the house for good.  I think I have enough milk paint left to do some small book shelves, so you know where to find me this week.  I am working on a full dresser write-up to share pictures, thoughts on working with milk paint, and other little details. 

I'm posting bow ties in the shop all day today and I can hardly believe we got all the pictures done.  Our photo shoot was a whirlwind of lamps and tripods and me pinning Steve's shirt in the back so it looked just right, just like he was a mannequin.  I'm crazy about these plaid bow ties because the colors of the plaid are quite different from one side to the other, making it basically two different ties.  I'd like to say that I planned it that way, but the truth is that it was strictly luck. 

 

Also lucky: finding a husband who is willing to pose in eight different bow ties on a Sunday afternoon.  What can I say?  I'm a lucky girl. 

how to carry your shoes in style

I was talking to my mom last night about my newest product- the shoe bag- and realized that I hadn't shared it here on the blog yet.  The shoe bag was created because of the belief that many women (and men) take an extra pair of shoes to work with them and might enjoy a professional-looking bag in which to carry them.

 

This belief comes mainly from observation and speculation, not personal experience.  I work at home, in my slippers. 

 

(Side note: I realized that it would be helpful to photograph the bag with a work-type shoe, which I do not own, so I sent a last minute email to Natalie the night before she arrived here that said, "Bring a pair of sensible pumps.  This is not a joke."  And, like a true best friend, she showed up with these nice shoes for us to photograph.)

 

So- the shoe bag!  I used a lovely natural colored canvas that is pretty heavy.  The zipper is brass, which I think adds just the right amount of fancy.  The bag has a wide leather handle at one end and a leather tab at the other.  I adore the color of the leather- it's a piece I have that isn't large enough for bags, but works quite well for smaller embellishments. 

 

The bag is unlined, so I enclosed all the inside seams with blue and khaki striped bias tape.  It's like a fun surprise when you open it! 

 

Although I originally had the office on the brain when I designed this, I've thought of so many other uses since then- like travel or storage (keep the dust off your wedding shoes!) or things that aren't even shoes. 

 

We had a successful fabric shopping trip over the weekend, so today I'm getting organized for the next round of bow ties and pocket squares- just in time for Easter!

a promising start to the week

You guys, I woke up giddy with excitement this morning.  Part of it was due to the fact that we had such a productive weekend and part of it was due to our post-dinner Target trip last night. 

We've been searching for a clock for my office and the search is over!  I had been looking at much smaller clocks, but Steve thought it would look cool if we really filled up the space.  He was totally right!  We bought this huge wooden clock and came right home to hang it.  Then we sat on the sofa to admire it for a bit.  I don't know- probably you had to be here to grasp the excitement. 

We went to Target specifically to pick up the clock, but ended up hitting the jackpot on a few other items while we were there as well.  I found this awesome planner than I am going to use as a business calendar.  Right now, I have small planner that I use for both personal and business and it's a little crowded.  The planner was 70% off and since we're only 18% into 2013, I think it was a great deal. 

As for our productive weekend, we took hundreds of pictures and I will be posting new items in the shop all day today (and possibly into tomorrow!).  We managed to pull off our big photo shoot with very few props, but we've been on the hunt for some lovely wooden pieces for bow tie display.  We found this one on our shopping trip last night and it's almost exactly what I'd pictured. 

In order to make room for all the new products, I've put some more items on sale, like all the men's scarves.  Be sure to check out the sale section of the shop for some great deals!

less than half an hour away

Last week, I made chocolate chip cookies.  If you recall, I rarely make cookies.  This was, by far, my best cooking-making experience yet because of what happened after I made the cookies. 

I froze them.  Well, to be precise, I baked six of them and froze the other two dozen.  I placed all the dough balls on cookie sheets, as usual, but put the cookie sheets in the freezer for a couple of hours.  Then I tossed the frozen dough balls in a gallon plastic bag and put it back in the freezer. 

We've had hot, freshly baked cookies four nights this week.  It's been amazing. 

 

I used a gluten free cookie recipe that you can find here.  The almond flour gives the cookies a lovely, nutty chewiness.  And I can pretend they are healthy. 

 

You could, of course, employ the freezing method with any old kind of cookie.  They take about sixteen minutes to bake.  The oven takes about ten minutes to preheat.  That means that at any given time, I am less than half an hour away from fresh cookies.  I don't mind confessing, this makes me feel quite secure. 

The super cute dish towel under the cookies was a gift from Steve last night.  He came home from work with a bag of treats for me which included my favorite chap stick, two tea towels, and the email address of someone who might want to purchase some of my Charlotte totes for sale in her store.  One of my favorite things about Steve is how thoughtful and observant he is and I'm so thankful to have a husband who knows that it's not flowers, but tea towels and sales leads that really woo me. 

We're gearing up for a huge photo shoot weekend and took a few practice shots last night.  I absolutely can't wait to have everything listed in the shop next week!

Today I'm sewing up a few final products, tackling the laundry situation, and switching out the papers on our big silver frame wall from winter to spring.  Happy March!

the bump

You may remember a couple of weeks ago when I was cutting out triangles until my hands hurt.  I think I ended up doing about 800 before I decided enough was enough.  As you can imagine, I really made a dent in my scrap boxes. 

The triangles (all 800 of them) were then grouped by color and sewn into party banners.  I love party banners.  We've used them to decorate for Easter, birthday parties, and weddings that we weren't invited to. 

These particular banners are now being sold at The Bump Maternity Boutique, so I imagine they will mainly be used for baby showers and nursery decor.  The Bump is a locally owned store that has such cute and unique items for mom and baby.  Like these fancy banners! (And other great stuff too.)

Most of the items I sell don't really require packaging, but I wanted to keep all the little triangles extra safe, so I put each banner in a plastic sleeve and then Steve designed really cute stickers for the outside. 

 

I was telling Steve the other day that there are so many great qualities he has that I didn't even  think to look for in a husband.  I mean, I had a running list in my head, but "designing really cute stickers for product packaging" was not on it, surprisingly enough.  I sure did get lucky. 

I also took my stock of stuffed balls to The Bump, so you will notice that I no longer have a "baby" section in my online shop.  One of my goals this year is to narrow my focus, so I'll be phasing out some items in the coming months. 

 

Today I'm excited to be working on a whole batch of these canvas and leather lunch bags.  Steve has been using his every day for about three months now and it's still looking great- product testing at its finest! 

 

Will you be making any last minute Valentine's today?  Here are some card ideas for inspiration!

behind the scenes

We had a great weekend.  We really did.  We ran errands and relaxed; cooked together and ate out with friends; cleaned the car and played tennis. 

 

We took 578 pictures this weekend.  And they were all of me.  Yikes.  

 

I had seven scarves and about eighteen bags that desperately needed to be photographed on a person.  Specifially, a female person.  And when you're running a small business, you often end up doing the less desireable tasks.  Like being photographed 578 times. 

 



And if, by chance, it's January and you are being photographed outside in a thin shirt, you may find yourself putting on all seven scarves at one time to keep warm.  Which worked quite well, if you were wondering.



Steve, in his infinite patience and helpfulness, was the perfect photographer and worked hard to get the shots done as quickly as possible.  He shouted out things like "turn ten degrees to your left" or "move your elbow" while circling me with the camera to get the best angle.  If you're trying to picture this in your head, yes we were out in public and yes, people stared.  I've kind of gotten used to it and I just try to pretend that I'm famous and it's regular to stand around in sunglasses while a man using a very long camera lens yells commands from down the sidewalk. 

 



I'm still working my way through all the bag photos, but they will be showing up in the shop throughout the week.  Also, if you're looking for baby gifts, grab them now because most of the baby items will be disappearing from the shop within the next two weeks.  We're doing some restructuring and I'm super excited about it. 

Today I'm straightening up the house after the long weekend and making a quinoa salad to go with the leftover hamburgers we'll be having for dinner- so good!

drinking life through a fire hose

Good morning, friends!  As usual, we had a weekend that was full to bursting! 

On Friday, we spent the day running Christmas-y errands and got so much accomplished.  We even squeezed in a Panera lunch date by the fireplace (I think all restaurants should have fireplaces), which was a great break in the midst of a busy day. 

Then, we spent the rest of the weekend running from the Vintage Charlotte Holiday Market to a very special first birthday party to a leisurely lunch with friends to a Christmas concert. 

In between all that, we got to deliver meals and ice cream and holiday cheer to several friends who need things like meals and holiday cheer right now.  It is such a blessing to be able to be able to show love to these friends, all of whom have helped us out during times when we were barely holding it together. 

On Saturday night, we were able to relax at home for a bit and start decorating the tree.  We rescued some ornaments from my mom's garage that I have loved since I was a child and it was so much fun to hang them on our own tree this year.  I told Steve about how my very favorite one was always those two people sleeping snug in a nutshell. 

And my second favorite, of course, was these two people, sleeping in a cradle.  Is it any wonder that my favorite thing to do in the winter is cuddle up with Steve under a blanket?  I've always been a cuddler at heart. 

So today is gray and windy and I've got every light in the house on to cheer me while I work.  The washer and dryer are both running and I've got big plans for soup making later on.  I'm also feeling excited because I woke up to a happy surprise today- some of my items are being featured on one of my favorite blogs!  Mara and her husband, Danny, write at A Blog About Love and it is one of the most encouraging things to read.  I just love their story and their desire to help others find joy.  Be sure to click over to Mara's blog and check it out!

one stop shop

I rarely get dressed up.  I mean, let's be honest- I rarely leave the house.  But when I do leave the house, it's to go to Target, the grocery store, the bank, a friend's house, the fabric store, church... you get the picture.  And we don't go to a dress-up church. 

But, on the few occasions that I need to look fancy, I always find myself rifling through purses five minutes before we need to leave, wondering why I don't have something proper to carry.  You know- something that is just big enough for a few essentials and that doesn't clash with my outfit. 

So, this holiday season, I designed a fancy clutch.  The outside is black with metallic silver threads running through it so it shimmers in the light.  It literally matches everything.  I made a whole bunch of these, lined with either hot pink, or aqua.  I also made a fancy fluff of a zipper pull that is removable, if you're not into that much bling. 

The clutch is 9" wide and 6" tall- just right for my phone, sunglasses, and chapstick.  I'll admit- I've been carrying one when Steve and I go out even if I'm just wearing jeans. 

So the clutches are in the shop, along with a bunch of other new items just in time for Christmas.  I made a few new fabric bead necklaces that would make a fun, non-traditional jewelry gift. 

 

I also stocked up on these leather and wool pouches in multiple sizes.  Don't they look cozy?  I am excited to be offering so many products for men this year and hope it will make Plumfield Shop more of a one-stop-shop for gifts.  (Don't worry- the leather pouches aren't just for men.)

 

I've also added a few new scarf patterns to the shop, as we've sold out of several already.  I've had a few requests for infinity scarves thus far and yes- any scarf in the shop can be made in the infinity style- just ask when you order!

 

Now that the fun work of sewing all these products is behind me, I get the equally fun task of making sure all orders arrive in time for Christmas!  Since everything is ready to ship, most items will be on their way the very next day after you place an order.  Sometimes, if you order in the morning, I will ship your package the same day and tie it to the mailbox with garden twine in what I can only hope makes an amusing anecdote for the mail lady to tell when she gets home at night.  I try to spread holiday cheer in whatever way I can. 

 

Happy Shopping!