Floribunda 2009

I had a stall last weekend at Floribunda, a flower and garden show produced by the Women's Club of Norwich. It was my first time attending at all and I was very impressed by some of the displays, especially by the growers and florists. Here are some, plus others of special note.
Above, Killdeer Farm had a sweet raised bed-looking box with corn plants, beans, tomatoes and it looks like squash and other veggies, too. They had some sweet vintage victory garden posters on their back wall.

Cedar Circle Farm. One of their employees painted this mural of the Connecticut River Valley, the river seen from VT, and hills rising in NH beyond; pretty much the setting of the actual farm. I came home with two bags of their tenderest baby greens on Sunday, including a few pea sprouts. I must ask Betsy down the road at Spring Chicken Farm what organic pea seeds to get for sprouting my own.

My friend Chris Esten, aka The Green Reaper. We carpooled from Topsham on Saturday and Sunday morning. Have a look at her lovely new prints of Blue Hydrangea petals when you get a chance. Sublime.

Orchids by Genera, always amazing. Louise and Vince were great neighbors to have across the isle.

I love this arbor by Petals of White River Junction.

Grape Hyacinths and other sweet growing things.

The "Wacky Worm Sisters" of Down to Earth Worm Farm showing a worm/compost cocktail (I think) for your plants.

Another pretty booth by Cider Hill. The whole place smelled really great, too. There were lots of daffodils, and lavender and rosemary plants around, too.

Very fine glass in understated elegance by Simon Pierce, right next to my booth.
Filling out the evaluation form the Norwich ladies provide about the show. You know; what was the most challenging part of the show, what do you think of these ideas we have for next year, etc., etc. I always write in the blank spots they provide because I believe in feedback. Want to give me some?

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Laundry Day Aprons

I've been wanting to make these big pouch pocket Laundry Day aprons for a while now. Just put all your clothespins in the big kangaroo pocket and they are as handy as can be at your clothesline. Don't let my single purpose limit you though. These are great for holding whatever you need to have on hand, anywhere you need to be. Aprons are the new backpacks! And much cuter than fanny packs also. Made from a combination of new and cast-off fabrics and repurposed clothing.

Enjoy looking. I'll have these at Florabunda this weekend at Tracy Hall in Norwich, Vermont and more throughout the vending season.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Gardening Aprons

Hot off the press! (or whatever the equivalent is coming out of ye ol' sewing workshop): Gardening Aprons just in time for my first flower and garden show. This weekend, March 28 and 29, I'll be selling from my stall at Florabunda in Tracy Hall, Norwich Vermont. Plenty of room in four big pockets for tools, seed packets, little pots now empty after the sets are settled in the ground, and even stashing bits of last year's plastic mulch you find as you do your first diggings.

These aprons are made from heavy home-decor weight wood grain fabric by designer Joel Dewberry and trimmed out with some of my favorite vintage and vintage-inspired fabrics. also I'm loving the bias tape edging. Structurally it tightens everything up very nicely. And I have always been compelled to add borders in my designs. I wonder why that is?? Desire for more organization and containment in my life? Or just highlighting the wonderfulness to be seen within? The viewer gets to decide.

Enjoy looking and please stop by Florabunda and say hello!

Friday, March 20, 2009

MAD in the current Food Issue of Upper Valley Life

Hey all you foodies: Upper Valley Life has a great food-themed issue out right now. The recipes sound tasty and the restaurant reviews are very compelling. Bunten Farmhouse Kitchen in Orford is definitely at the top of my to-try list. And I am so honored to have my aprons and HotHolders included in one of the Quick Looks articles. Get a copy at a newsstand before they sell out and on page 25 is Kim J. Gifford's article, "Something's Hot in the Kitchen." I am so pleased with her writing. She really gets what I'm up to aesthetically and conceptually in terms of my products and even has quotes from some of my customers. Thanks Kim and Laura!!

Sunday, March 15, 2009

MAD quilt featured on poetry/craft blog

This was among other lovely quilts illustrating a poem by Nikki Giovanni on the JBlack Design blog today.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Work In Progress Part II: Clothepin Bags

It is like a frozen tundra outside but it's Spring in my workroom. One of the products I want to have ready for my first show later this month (Florabunda in Tracy Hall, Norwich, VT, March 28 - 29) is a fresh crop of clothespin bags. For these I'm combining new designer yardage with various salvaged fabrics. Gotta have plenty of florals and otherwise plant themes for this garden and flower show! Above is one of last year's bags to show you the finished product. It has 4 big openings for easy access to your pins from any angle. My grandmother had one of mattress ticking at her place in Maine, and I liked the design.

Here they are at the stage after I've lined them. Some will be trimmed with rickrack and strips of contrasting fabrics for $30 and some will be just the basic lined model for $24. All will have their corners sewn up with vintage buttons to a hand forged wrought iron hook. I had these specially made by a metalworker in nearby New Hampshire who builds fair rides.

This year's pink and green. The green is headed towards olive, and the leaves are bright spring green. It's a pretty dynamic "colorway" as the fabric people say.

Little birds sitting on delicate branches. I've been pairing brown with blue lately.

More for the lovers of blue.

I have a whole bolt of this chocolate wood grain fabric. Is it super versatile, or just super woody? Haven't decided yet.

And now for something a little different. This print is called "Coriander."

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Work in Progress Part I: Aprons

I am having a lot of fun playing with the fabric over here <-- (to be read with a tone of barely restrained glee.) Above is new gingham (a bit pinker than I expected when I ordered it, but I'm getting used to it) and a vintage Liberty print.

Gingham just makes everything look so sweet. The blue on the right is an almost electric shade in the middle of turquoise and royal. What is that shade of paint we all had in oil painting class? It's one of the basics on the pallet. Well, whatever it is called, this is it. I like both ginghams with this - another vintage floral. Winter is not bothering me lately as it is spring in my studio now. I think it sprang because of Florabunda, which is my first show for which these aprons are being produced.

Apron production is going really well - all the skirts are hemmed, rolls of wide twill for back neck ties arrived from my new supplier - and I've been dabbling in pairing waistbands to skirts. This is the most creatively exciting part of my work - marrying up prints.

One of my goals for 2009 is to increase the efficiency of my production process so I can continue of offer one-of-a-kind American handmade aprons at such a low price. One of the unfortunate realities I discovered in 2008 is that it is considerably more expensive to hunt down, buy and repurpose textiles that are already out there in the world. I now know why my favorite sweaters at Preloved are $90. I have had to embrace that other meaning of the word "sustainable," as in, "In what way do I have to work to make this business sustainable?" I have known for a while that I'd have to write about this here and have been hesitating... But this feels like a joyous context in which to bring out the truth of my use of *gasp* bolts from the factory. I am still incorporating thrifted scores where I can: shirt collar and cuff trim, some waistbands and pockets, the lining of the apron bibs, special aprons made entirely from vintage table clothes, and when I can get big enough pieces, whole aprons from repurposed fabrics. But the fact is that I can use new fabric for a fraction of the price of repurposed and that's what I need to do to keep the aprons at $39 for another season.

Here are some other fabric combos I've been playing with:

The blue and white stripes here are vintage Marimekko. Note on the right the excellent company I keep in the studio ; >


I am so keen on this dark chocolate wood grain and the fun pairings for aprons. I keep thinking: "Picnic in the Woods." The fabric's a heavier weight and cost me twice as much so these will be at a somewhat higher price point.

Lovely vintage table clothes reborn as very special aprons. All the edges of these (except for the pink on the very right) will be finished with bias tape. They will have that *special* price point also.

This might not be even half of fun, so I think I'll post again when I get to the other fabs. More Mid Winter Projects coming too, so...stay tuned!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Mid-Winter Project Series Part II: Custom Market Apron

During my holiday shows I got a fun commission to make a market apron for a local grower who sells at the Montpelier Farmers Market. Boots and his partner, Chris Esten (also a fantastic grower and botanical artist as "The Green Reaper"), had an upstairs booth at the Norwich Holiday Market (mine was downstairs) and "demonstrated" a couple of my aprons to drum up interest. Boots really liked the house-painter style one I had for him to wear, and wanted me to make one in a fabric with an appropriate theme for him. Well, I happen to have just the thing.

Boots is one of those very rare men who can wear shorts (vintage I'm sure) that show off his thighs. I was given specific dimensions for the apron: 18 inches wide and no more than 5 inches tall. The idea is that the bottom of the apron not be below the bottom of his shorts. Apparently he already causes quite a stir at the Farmers Market and we don't want him looking like he's wearing no shorts at all! I put a seam in the middle dividing the apron into two large pockets. I'll try to add a pic of Boots wearing it this summer so stay tuned!

Meanwhile if you would like to order a decidedly sharp, durable and super useful apron of your own for your vending events I have enough of this heavy canvas and fruits and veggies fabric (and other interesting fabric options) to make a few more, made to your specific dimensions to show off your legs...or not.

This is one of my favorite fabrics and I've used it in some wonderful billfolds and belts also.

This belt was recently featured in a treasury on Etsy.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Mid-Winter Projects Series Part I: The Couch

I'm back! I was wondering what January would be like for the no-longer-so-fledgling-but-still-not-fully-in-flight Mountain Ash Design. Would I get a lot of production work done? Would I be half on vacation after the busy holiday vending season, cooking elaborate meals for my family every night? Would I have my Etsy shop fully stocked with new and sale products? Well...it hasn't turned out quite like that, though that third one is not too far off. And I have been keeping up with feeding the family and doing the subsequent dishes. Quite charming tasks when I'm not on such a tight schedule and I have a cute apron on to help me feel organized and purposeful. The toasty warmth from the wood cook stove in the kitchen doesn't hurt either.

I've done a little bit of production work with Betsy, the most excellent veggie and chicken grower in town, but mostly I've been working on show applications and taxes and sewing custom orders and some non-business related sewing projects, too. So here begins a little series of posts in which I'll show you around some results from the MAD labs, shall we say off season.

First I'll give you a little tour of by far my biggest project (of the season): Covering new foam cushions I bought for our vintage Modern couch. ("vintage Modern" - interesting term, huh? I see it on on Etsy all the time - appears to be all the rage. The other term I see that makes more sense is "Mid-Century Modern")

This is the before photo. We got this couch at Recycle North in South Burlington a few years ago. It's actually a pretty cool item. But alas, this has been it's typical state for a while.

See, the caning is good. The structural integrity is quite good. It came with old disintegrating foam cushions covered in this same heavy green weave. I bought new foam cushions over a year ago and finally got around to covering them last month.

In the sewing room: I only had enough of this maroon retro 1940s-style bark cloth to use on the front/top of all the cushions. I used heavy denim for the rest. The one on top I made for practise. Couldn't spring for piping so I made up this edge treatment instead. (I don't even know if I'm using the correct slipcover terminology.)

Voila - Here it is all done! I just finished it on Sunday. The bark cloth has been kicking around for years also and was often used as the under-the-dog layer so it is a bit faded and snagged in places. I realize that I am mixing up period styles here. I believe the couch is from the 1950s or early 1960s. The walls downstairs in our house had wallpaper similar to this fabric when we first bought the house 13 years ago, except water-stained and grimy. I was sorry to paint over it.

I'll post again soon about a custom baby quilt I am finishing and a sweet little market apron with very specific proportions I recently made for a local grower.

Ta Ta!

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Happy New Year from MAD

Happy New Year everyone!

Here's a belt of mine featured in a

cartographic treasury on etsy.

This belt was made from all vintage and recycled materials including this wonderful vintage '80s home decor fabric of an old world map, a repurposed upholstery swatch on the back, recycled hand paper-making felts on the inside and a vintage buckle.

I'm no longer making belts in this style but there are a few left on

my etsy shop and they are ON SALE until they are all gone! Look in the sale section of my shop where you will also find aprons and billfolds marked way down and ready to clear out and make space for new designs.

See the treasury of other map-inspired works by taking the link below:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=32486

I'm catching up on my books, doing inventory, browsing fabrics to order in bolts (what? - not recycled!? more on this in another post), and making lots of exciting plans for 2009.

Thanks for a great 2008 everyone. Stay tuned for a selection of belts like the one below and many more MAD innovations in 2009!

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