But now that I have Sourdough I can indulge in this love of vivid neckwear and enjoy it.

At the prompting of a close family friend, I've come up with a collection of mens bowties crafted from my beautiful barkcloth fabrics. They're of the old-fashioned freestyle variety, and each one is sized to fit so there's no adjustable loop. I know that some people are fans of the adjustability, but I wanted to make these very simple and very old school.

Each one can be custom ordered by request if you don't see the size and pattern that you like. I'm happy to make them for you at the same price!

Visit the "Bowties" section of the Etsy shop today to see the full group!

A million thanks to the fabulous Karen Palmer of Daily Candy SF, as well as my friends at Alice & Isa for making this segment happen!

Although the tag at the bottom calls these the "Cat Eye Masks" which is completely wrong, the name and tag are mentioned, and I'm quite gratified to know that Spencer Christian loves lavender aromatherapy. The Sleepytime Eye Masks are the first product in the segment, so please take a look!

Ampersand on Etsy Stalker

I am absolutely thrilled about today's mention in the SF Chronicle Style Section! The article was all about my fantastic friend Dawn Miller and the amazing offerings over on Alice & Isa. As an Alice & Isa designer, I was interviewed for the piece and luckily one of my quotes made it in to the write-up.

If you haven't checked it out yet, please visit the article via SF Gate, or pick up a copy of the Sunday paper ASAP!

Color combinations include: Winter White, Blue Christmas (or Hanukkah), Red & Green, Pinks, and Red & White. There's definitely something for everyone's holiday style!

All of the garlands are made from patches of barkcloth, recycled poly felt, and a smooth silk ribbon. Each one measures just over 6 feet in length too, so they can do quite a bit! Check them out in the Etsy shop now!

The fabulous 7x7 Glamwatch blog gave us a mention as one of their favorite local Etsy designers. I've always been a fan of 7x7 magazine, and the Glamwatch blog is a daily delight. I'm so pleased that Sourdough made the cut!

Then, my friend Winona of the ever-amazing Daddy Likey blog wrote an amazing sponsor post about Sourdough, highlighting some of the great gift options we have available for the holidays. AND our lust-worthy jackets which should please anyone!

Thanks to 7x7 Glamwatch and to Daddy Likey for supporting Sourdough!

My design for Handmade Ho Down that was "too professional".

I'm only writing this up because I don't think anyone knows this side of the story. Also, barely anyone reads this blog so I'm sure barely anyone will care, but I wanted to get it out, tell the story, and be done with it. And since it's my blog...

A few weeks ago there was a craft event hosted by Lightbox at Element Lounge. My second-ever craft event, I was eager to have it go much better than the Renegade Craft Fair. Not that Renegade wasn't great, it was, but I barely broke even for the weekend. The Lightbox event was smaller, at a cool spot, and only $75 for the evening. While at the event, I was very pleased to meet a few other members of the SF Etsy Street Team who all seemed genuinely friendly and excited to check out Sourdough.

While there, someone from the Handmade Ho Down team picked up one of my Sourdough cards (with the skyline illustration on them) and expressed her delight. She said that the look was exactly what they needed for the Handmade Ho Down: iconic San Francisco, retro-looking, clean and classic, but still playful. I let her know that I did the illustration myself, that I do that type of thing as a freelancer, but that I'd be happy to help out the group in any way I could.

Over the next few days, I received a few urgent emails from this person, who it turns out is heading up the planning of the event. We had a lengthy phone call, and she expressed that the initial branding/design they'd received from a member of the committee was good, but not perfect. She wanted something much like what I'd done for Sourdough. She said people on the committe were taking "Handmade Ho Down" to mean "pimps & hos" or "western", and that this was definitely not right. She mentioned that there would be a general invitation to the SF Etsy Street Team to submit illustrations/logos, but that she liked my style in particular, and that she really needed something within three days. She said the group really wanted to differentiate itself from the "cute" look of shows such as Renegade and Bazaar Bizarre, with something crisp and polished. She agreed that I should send my illustrations directly to her and not to the general contest.

Flattered and eager to create something that could express my illustration style for such a broad audience, I created two options - one (the Victorian houses above) was admittedly better than the other. But, three days isn't a lot of time to put things like this together. Even so, I put aside other (paid) work to create this illustration.

I sent both to the head of the Handmade Ho Down and heard nothing. No feedback, no encouragement, no "I like this, but let's change this"...nothing. I followed up via phone and email, but still heard nothing. I found this odd after all of the direct requests and conversations I'd had with her.

Two days later, I received a general email from someone else on the Handmade Ho Down team thanking everyone for their submissions, but that the group had gone with someone else. When I emailed the head of the event, my contact, about this I asked if I could get some feedback and if there was something more to the decision I wasn't privy to in the end. She sent me a breezy email and suggested that the someone else who'd sent the email about the contest results should answer me.

He did answer, and I was little bit appalled by the condescending tone. While I'd admitted I was new to freelancing and would love to hear feedback, I'm not new to illustration, branding, or the politics of decision-making among multiple parties. He told me that I shouldn't really spend a lot of time on contest submissions, that it wasn't worth it, and that he generally sends things in "and then forgets about it". He also told me that the Victorian houses design was very close in the running, but that the committee thought it was "too polished, too professional" and that the group wanted something more "organic and homemade looking". This was indeed news to me, since the directive I'd received from the team lead said "iconic San Francisco and retro"...

It all sounded like a case of too many cooks in the kitchen to me, and I said so when I wrote back to both of them. I suggested that the committee needed to get its ducks in a row and have complete agreement on all vendor directives and relations. I never heard back from either one of these people after this email. I realize they are both busy people, but I did think that out of courtesy they would have said something.

Handmade Ho Down BrandingSo, as "organic and homemade" goes, the resulting design is exactly that. Drab colors and craft tools shaped into letters that spell the title of the event. (Acutally, it's sort of difficult to read, no?) Not exactly groundbreaking. In fact, a lot like many other craft shows out there. But it gets better. It turns out that the someone else who'd sent the email about the contest results and the condescending bit of freelance advice is the person who created this not-exactly-groundbreaking logo design. It turns out that the person who requested that I submit to the contest wasn't making the decision, but the someone else was, and graphic design is conveniently his line of work.

Etsy's "Tools" BadgeMore than these backroom machinations, I'm just kind of over this aspect of the crafting world. Why does everything have to look so "cute" and "loving hands at home"? I don't understand why there's this need to look like shoddy crap all the time. If you want your business effort to succeed, from high finance to handmade products, you must present yourself (and conduct yourself) with professionalism and a memorable branding. I have years of corporate experience with retail brands who have dealt with high-end handcrafted products, and they have some of the best branding around. Luxury products justify their high prices because they can marry their brand image with their quality craftsmanship. I just think it's time that the crafting world did the same. Why not? Why limit our thinking to such a small world?

Apart from the Handmade Ho Down being on my birthday, as I mentioned above, I'm just not crazy about being a part of an event that wants to brand itself this way. There are so many ways to make this branding memorable and vibrant, and I'm afraid this just isn't it. I want the SF Etsy Team to excel and make its mark in the very challenging market we're in, and I worry that lack of a dynamic brand that we can all stand behind will make this even more difficult.

I really don't want to be "cute and organic" do you? The whole point is to BE handmade, not LOOK handmade. That's how our businesses will succeed in the bigger scheme of things.

It's very exciting to have Sourdough get this kind of attention...and, that I can now add this fabulous button to my item!

Along with my love of barkcloth comes my love of vintage buttons. What can I say, they're so fantastic! I started to buy them in major doses a few years ago when I visited Paris on a business trip. I went to the marché aux puces (not Clignancourt - that's for the tourists - it was either Montreuil or Vanves,) and bought up cards and cards of buttons. Unfortunately, once you put buttons on something, they are no longer in the button jar. You know, if you love something, set it free.

So, where to find awesome vintage buttons without taking a trip to Paris? Luckily I found a resources last year at the Vintage Fashion Expo right here in San Francisco. Linda Sicard sells vintage buttons and also creates her own line of button jewelry which she sells under the name Unbuttons. Last year Sourdough was just a puff of smoke, but now that it's a reality I had to find Linda again and take full advantage.

You cannot imagine how happy I was to see she had brought her Paris button cards to this year's expo! As I flipped through the bins, I found myself suppressing gasp after gasp of delight. Truly, it doesn't take a lot to make me happy, just a bin-full of vintage stuff.

After about an hour's deliberation (okay, maybe it was more like 20 minutes) I came away with the lot above. I'm thrilled, to say the least, and I cannot wait to add these to future Edie jackets!

Two Edie jackets (one in the Gray Herringbone and one in the new Pollock Print) and two Nini Jackets (one in Charcoal Crosshatch and one in Chartreuse Thunderstorm) are all one-of-a-kind, made especially for the Alice & Isa shop.

There are also five different one-of-a-kind belts, and four Sleepytime Eye Masks. For the eye masks, the Pollock, Jewel Box, and Gimlet print patterns are all exclusive to Alice & Isa and will not be found in the Sourdough Etsy shop!

Please visit AliceandIsa.com and check out the Sourdough pieces!