30 Minutes to go

Hello Readers,

"These are the times that try Wo-mans souls"...or at least my coping skills. So the color from photoshop #FFFF66 does not match the Dreamweaver #FFFF66 because it hates me. I really don't see any other logical explanation. Unless I didn't have a true #FFFF66 on when I created the pages. So my pages have splashes of a different yellow in them.

Yes, it is very noticeable and yes it is very distracting. It was almost imperceptible on my laptop at home but at school with these fancy flat LCD screens it screams at you. Like that one Tide commercial when the guy is in the interview and the stain is speaking over him... You'll get it if you've seen it.

Nothing to do but face the music, in 21 minutes.

Epiphany-----I saved the pieces at a lower quality for web since Gil(dreamweaver instructor) told us it is all about how fast your page loads. I'll offer that tidbit of logic to the professor when sits stunned at the yellow monstrosity that is my site...

Until next time,

Lauren

Less Than 24 Hours!

Hello Readers,

I am now less than 24 hours from uploading my site to the server. I wish I had tried this quick poll software out earlier. The MOST FRUSTRATING part of this whole process. I knew it was going too easy!

Aside from the evil poll software, the videos successfully loaded onto youtube on Friday. I re-did those videos about 30 times each and I will say that I am satisfied with the end result. J. Alex's slide show was the easiest to put together but he will appreciate the lengths I went to in order to get the perfect music accompaniment. I stalked this poor online mixer for expressed consent to use his mix. He's either flattered or very...very...afraid.

Time to splice up my beautiful pages and transport them from Photoshop to Dreamweaver. Yea, I bet you didn't know I have to create the page and then split it up only to put it BACK together again. I also have to put an effect on the front page that may or may not work. I'll talk about it in my last blog so I don't make a fool of myself when it isn't there :)

I treated myself to manicure today so that I would be encouraged to type my lil heart out with deep coral nails which will also keep me from getting distracted by other pretty things :)

Until next time,

Lauren

Creating the Website

Hello Readers,

I have been moving along with the website and it is starting to look quite nice. I realized that I have trouble matching colors so getting a color scheme that worked took me almost a whole day... I decided to watch some movies with bright and vivid colors in them for inspiration. Sound of Music was just for fun :) Lion King won, as you will see when the site goes live.

I have one week to get the site up. All of the video is done and about to be converted for web. The index page is completely done which is nice and just writing is left for the other pages. I probably shouldn't have left all of the writing for the end of but I had a couple of papers and projects for my other classes and well you know how that goes.

Alright, the page is going to be up a week from today! Hope you enjoy it!

The Entrepreneur

Hello Readers!

I've completed my final interview with Mr. Black Da Vinci himself. The young and talented, J. Alex, created his line of hand painted clothes and accessories with their own funky vibe. His says that his inspiration derives from his DC background where he started spray painting shirts and wearing them to school. The rest was history. His line was created.

J. Alex is about to make a move from NYC to the ATL so instead of me traipsing through the organized chaos of packing up, we decided on a phone interview. It went well, I mastered the art of one handed typing because the phone kept sliding down my shoulder. His designs are amazing and he sent me some photos of him in different stages of creating his shirts.

J. Alex is also the proud papa of a darling little girl. I had to call him "Super dad" because he uses the few hours of her nap time to sketch and design. Sometimes has to hold her in one arm and draw with the other because even at her young age she knows that she is "Daddy's Little Princess".

He is not stopping at just hand painted designs. The Black Da Vinci creator has plans of getting into graphic designs. He is currently taking courses in graphic design since his previous college for undergrad did not offer many courses. He plans to take all of his experience and skill and one day merge with his fiancee (an event coordinator) to plan larger events and expand his line. Atlanta should keep an eye out for this emerging power couple.

Well, the fun part is complete and now it is time to edit my video and write up profiles of this three dynamic designers.

Keep your fingers crossed!

Until next time,

Lauren

The Veteran

Hello Readers,

Just updating you on my progress! I've completed the interview with Ms. Jameela of House of Gemeaux in Philadelphia. I transported my video camera down the east coast for this interview and I was more than a little nervous that they would lose my checked luggage with my tripod in it. Every other time I get on a plane something of mines is lost when it is checked. Believe me if it weren't for that 3-1-1 liquid rule I would always gate check!

So I have an appointment at 10am for Ms. Jameela so I head out to take the bus to her house in West Philadelphia (Yea, that is where Will Smith is from). The residents of West Philly gave me a plethora of suspicious looks when they saw me stroll onto the bus with a tripod over my shoulder and camera bag on my hip. I felt like it was a slow motion walk down the aisle complete with theme music, but then they probably realized a professional journalist would be driving to her destination. Well, that let the air out of my balloon quickly.

Anyways, so Ms. Jameela was very accommodating and actually created a dress while I was filming her. The pieces were already cut and with deft hands she assembled the dress with her black antique Singer sewing machine. Her dog, Rufus, voiced his dislike of rumbling machine but then resigned to his corner after he saw it was a lost battle.

I couldn't take eyes of the sewing machine which was attached to the table and had a wrought iron pedal to control it. When I asked for the background of the sewing machine I couldn't believe how old it was. It was produced in 1910 and it had a modern motor in it went faster than average domestic sewing machines. It was the sewing machine that she watched another lady sew on when she was younger. When the lady passed, her husband gave it to Ms. Jameela and they have been a team ever since.

All in all, a great interview and the dress came out very cute! It was slated to be an Easter dress for a very lucky lady.

Until next time,

Lauren

First Interview

Hello again readers!

I'm moving forward with the process and have completed the first interview. First character:

The Dabbler

The Dabbler aka Samantha was actually the assistant coordinator way back when I was modeling in theBU Fashion show. She was the ONLY reason that I did not quit since the coordinator gave Meryl Streep's character in "The Devil Wears Prada" a run for her money. Always dressed trendy, Samantha personified fashion during her years here in Boston. Now she is in NYC pursuing her 2 loves--fashion and writing. She hopes to be an editor for a magazine someday and has had plenty of experience with internships.

The interview went very well! Samantha admitted to nerves which was a surprise to me because, 1) She's from NY and sassy, 2) she has a captivating and confident presence. We started out with her making a bracelet and explaining her designs and process. She actually twisted wire and bent chain links to make her unique brand (named Odd & Even) of accessories. She had some entertaining anecdotes about people asking her if she melted down the metal to make the charms to people watching her as she created jewelry on the train going to work.

Even though this is a favorite "hobby" of Samantha, she has plans to get a table at a jewelry market and show off her products. It is a large step because of the financial output needed to rent the table and buy supplies. I wish her luck with her endeavor! I'm sure she will continue to expand to become more than a "dabbler".

Now time to edit the video!

Welcome!

Welcome new readers to my journey of uncovering the everyday fashion designers. These relatively unknown designers mean a lot more than to their clients than Vera Wang does. I'm going to tell the stories of three different types of fashion designers:

1. The Veteran Designer
2. The Entrepreneur
3. The Dabbler

The interviews will be fun and I will attempt to get shots of them in their environment where their creative genius takes place.

First interview is the "Dabbler". Ms. Samantha Smikle has always loved fashion and writing. For now she keeps her designing to a hobby but she is soon going to be branching out. Stay tuned for next time!