TRIBUTE, LEGACY and HERITAGE

The recent years loss of family members made me reflect on the impact they have had on my life.

It’s only now in retrospect that I fully realize how important they were to me and to the path I chose. 

Hawthorn bush by Jeppe Larsen

My late aunt Annalise, the sister of my father, who passed recently at 96, had a certain influence on my later path. She was in charge of Valdemar Juul for many years, a known Danish manufacturing company at that time and attended Fashion fairs twice a year in Copenhagen. I had the chance to join her and her colleagues several times during my teens.

This exposure to the Fashion industry most probably made me choose to venture into fashion later on in life.

My late uncle Frede, who passed years ago and was married to my aunt, was also a big supporter of my early artistic endeavors and a great benefactor of the local art community in general.

He must have seen something in me, since he always brought me along to all these art exhibitions from a young age. He encouraged me and showed me a way of life that I otherwise never would have seen.

At exhibitions, he often asked me about my opinion and if he should buy certain artworks. I met several of the artists that he knew at different occasions.

When I look back, it is now very clear to me how much this influenced me in my later choices.

Since they didn’t have any children, I, my siblings and many others inherited quite a few of their cherished artworks.

Among them these two bronze sculptures by Steffen Christensen, a Danish sculptor that lived in Belgium. My uncle had several dealings with him and they became friends and the painting by Jeppe Larsen, grandson of Johannes Larsen that you see on top in this Blog post.

Family members who influenced you somehow, continues to live on in our memories. So, I guess with this, I just want to say: -appreciate the people you still have, while they are here. Before it’s too late.

Until next time! 

GIVING BACK

Hello all you creative and curious people out there.

Some of you might wonder why I am doing what I’m doing here and on my YouTube channel. So, I’ll try to explain.

The older you get, the more you try to make sense of it all. -Your life and your experiences. Why am I here and what is the purpose?

Throughout my life I’ve gained a lot of experience in  creative areas like art and design and I have created and compiled a lot of abstract paintings and dresses in time.

Maybe you’ve also noticed, I really like to inspire people, to teach and share my knowledge from all these years of experience. 

I would really like to pass all this and  my experience on in some way, for it not to be wasted. 

If you’re curious, read more about my experiences in my Resume and Services in the Menu section above. -And if you have any questions, suggestions or requests, just reach out.  

But, at the same time I also urge you to take action and not hesitate to make it happen, whatever you might have in mind. Follow your dreams.

If you don’t start or put it out there, nothing will happen and no one will ever know. Life is too short not to give it a try.

Like the blog title says, it’s my way of giving back by paying it forward.

Maybe you can call it my legacy, I don’t know. But I’m curious to know what you think. So, feel free to leave a comment below.

Looking forward to hear from you.

HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN PANTS

The foundation of Made-to-measure clothes, is your measurements. This is the secret to create clothes, that fits perfectly.

 

In these two new videos I am guiding you Step-by-step on how to construct your own Made-to-measure pants. So, you can experience the feeling of pants that actually fits you perfect.

 

-For these pants, you need some additional measures, that I am mentioning in the videos. Add them to your Size Chart, that you can download here for free. 

If you don't want to watch these videos over and over, you also have the option to buy manuals with illustrations and detailed instructions about how to construct the pant pattern, for a small amount. It is available via this link.

I am also offering to create your personal patterns, if you prefer that instead. I just need your exact measurements to do that. Contact me via email, if you are interested.

In my coming videos, I am open for your suggestions. So, if you have any subjects you would like me to cover, feel free to reach out. 

If you got inspired and want to learn how to make something like this, follow along and subscribe to support my channel and please spread the word if you know someone else who could benefit.

As always, if you have any questions or need help for a project, comment here or on my YouTube channel and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

DESIGN INSPIRATION AND ESTHÉTICS

From my latest video on YouTube about a topic that lies very close to my heart.
In my experience, your sense of design esthétics is not something you have or suddenly get.

-It is something you develop over time.

If you are conscious about what you are exposed to through your life, you will eventually learn how to recognize good taste from bad taste and develop your own design esthétics and vision.

Or maybe it will manifest itself at some point, if you’re passionate enough about it and pursuing it.

Not everyone is able to perfect their taste like that. But when you are stimulated and exposed to different environments and art forms from a young age, you eventually develop a certain sense of taste.

Personally I was very interested in architecture and design from a young age.

But, I was also exposed further through different educations.

So, you can say that a keen interest and experience played a big part in developing my esthétics.

One of my late teachers once said, when she encouraged me to participate in a tailor/design competition: -because they master a trade, they don’t necessarily possesses design expertise.

Of course one doesn’t exclude the other, but often it takes a certain sense of expertise and esthetic to master both.

One of the most interesting couturiers in this regard, that has been very influential and inspiring to me personally, is Christobal Balenciaga.

His innovative designs and meticulous craftsmanship set him apart from other designers, such as Coco Chanel and Christian Dior, who referred to him as "The King of Fashion" and "The Master of Us All."

Because he mastered every aspect of the design process, from design to actually executing the designs himself.

His unique approach to tailoring and fabric manipulation inspired and influenced designers like Hubert de Givenchy, Oscar de la Renta and André Courrèges to explore fashion in new ways. -And he continues to inspire designers all over the world.

Take a look at my previous blog post here, to learn more about Balenciaga. 

I am curious to know what you think about this subject. Please, share your thoughts in the comments below.

THE MAKING OF A BALL GOWN

This post is a supplement to my latest video on YouTube.

As I showed you this Ball gown in my previous video, back in Denmark, I will just describe  how I sewed the dress in this post. So, please check out that video to get the full picture. 

After I cut out all nine panels for this dress in silk taffeta and silk-organza, I underlined each one of them with the organza, by basting all the layers together. To enforce the taffeta, but also to support the shape of the dress itself.

 

I overlocked all the pieces, before I sewed them together. I ironed all the seams carefully, so they didn't show on the front.

I marked the hemline 8 cm up with the basting thread and sewed two rows of stiches at the edge to be able to gather it to the same with as the dress has 8 centimeters higher than the hemline. Once gathered I secured the hem with a bias ribbon, before I hemmed it with invisible stiches all around.

I sewed in the invisible zipper before I placed the dress between the two layers of the corset very precisely. I inserted all the rings for the lacing of the corset.

Finally, I finished off the lower edge of the corset with bias ribbon. 

As an alternative method, you can also place the dress back to front on the corset and sew on an enforced facing instead. 

You need a lot of patience for a time-consuming project like this. But I think the result was worth the effort. I used one of my big tulle-skirts under this dress, for the full effect.

If you got inspired and want to learn how to make something like this, follow along and subscribe to my channel and please spread the word if you know someone else who could benefit.

As always, if you have any questions or need help for a project, comment below and I will get back to you as soon as I can.