Shop and Work Spaces in Köln

Three years ago, I took a notion that I would like to live in Paris. I took time off from my steady, pensionable job (which was making me miserable at the time) and lived in the Latin Quarter for a month. But I couldn't bear it. I barely survived three weeks. My niece had been born in Germany (she was born while I was still in Ireland) and I couldn't wait to go and meet her. Here I was, on continental Europe and so was she! So I abandoned ship, I left Paris a few days early. I paid a ridiculous price for a train ticket to Köln.
All of that is an unecessary prelude really... the real story starts like this...
I had a few hours to kill in Köln before catching my next train. I went walking through the city. I was blown away by all the high street stores. Every shop you could name. From the UK or France or Germany or Italy - Pimkie, Body Shop, l'Occitane, HandM, Next, Benetton, Penney's/Primark - they all had huge branches in Köln. I don't really favour high street shops but I couldn't help be astounded. Brussels was similar but not as big, and not all together on the broad pedestrianised street: Hohe Strasse and Schildergasse.
And then I meandered on to smaller streets. And loved what I saw there too. Designers with workshops behind their shops. So a shopfront, and then maybe a mezzanine floor where the clothes were being sewn and made situated above the till / dressing room / stock room. And there was more than one of these! I loved it. Eagerly, I asked the shop owners and designers for their business cards. I saw it as maybe an option for me. An alternative to returning to my dreary desk in Dublin.
And on my next visit to Köln, I was excited to revisit this street. Of course, I hadn't made any life changes. I had returned to my safe job. So I was seeking inspiration and reassurance that these alternative places existed.
But I couldn't find the shops. I walked along the streets where I thought they were. I had mislaid the business cards. I remembered "Breite Strasse" very distinctly. I walked it and the adjacent streets. No luck. Maybe they'd gone?! Maybe they couldn't survive? The dream isn't a practical reality. Other "cool" shops were now inhabiting the streets in the area. Gentrification.
I have visited Köln twice at least since. And each time, I've walked in the vicinity of Breite Strasse hoping to see something I'd missed. It's put me off Koln. I don't like the place as much anymore. With the hipster Belgian Quarter. Sure, I've discovered the amazing Die Wohngemeinschaft hostel, the fab hairdresser a few doors up, Mythos, and the lovely coffee shop called Yummy Müslibar.
But back to Paris... the other day I was going through my old travel diaries. And I was delighted to find, tucked into the back of the Paris scrapbook, the business cards for the designer-maker shops in Köln. With trepidation, I checked their webpages. And I was ecstatic to discover that they both still exist!

rkm-kleiderkunst.de
schinkelwitz.de

I blame the map on one of the business cards for my confusion. The map highlights Breite Strasse and other streets in the area and only has a big spot on the shop location... but *doesn't* hightlight the actual street that the shop is on.
The street name? Auf dem Berlich. And I can't wait to go back to Köln and walk along it.

Costume exhibition in Kilkenny craft gallery

This exhibition runs until 16th October 2013:
http://www.nationalcraftgallery.ie/exhibitions/costume

There were two rooms; two displays.

 "Behind the Scenes"

Turning the traditional idea of a costume exhibition inside out, Behind the Scenes focuses on the undergarment, demonstrating that these complex, functional pieces are beautiful objects in their own right. It follows the team’s journey from initial concept through sketching, designing, pattern-cutting, sampling, construction and tailoring to the finished pieces themselves. Featuring panniers, hoops, crinolines and bustles, specially created for the exhibition by the Abbey team, the exhibition celebrates the sculptural qualities of these beautiful objects and the superb craft skills employed in making them.

Very interesting, good exhibition. Beautiful space in which to house the exhibition.

Although not entirely consistent in terms of the approach taken with each demonstrated piece, eg some had pic of item on-stage; some had notes of the play/character/actor who wore it, some had story to go with it (bird-seed bra; duvet crinoline), some had notes on or interview with the designer. I'm being fussy but it's because the information that was there was so excellent that I would have liked similar for each item on display! The exhibition information boards needed a little more thought on the layout, or a bit of planning or... as I said, being fussy.

There was really great information and the story of the underwear garment provided alongside the fat man suit. Unfortunately for me, I'd heard all the stories on a radio programme so the surprises and highlights of this small exhibition were already known to me.

Setting out on my career as costume designer, I'm starting to draft my own patterns. Corsetry is something that fascinates me, I'm a little daunted by it.

These pattern pieces were labelled "Corset pattern pieces" - I was puzzled, how did they fit together?! On closer inspection, the pieces were labelled with different designer/character/actress names. It looks cool on the wall as it's laid out with the shadows behind the pieces, but ultimately there is no deeper layer of information provided.
***
"Future Fashion" was the second display and included pieces from:
Úna Burke
Andreia Chaves
Marloes ten Bhomer
Stephanie Bila
Ana Rajcevic
Julia Lundsten of FINSK

I'm in a "cage" phase at the moment so I particularly loved these Invisible Shoes.

Andreia Chaves is the creator; those works struck me above all and I sketched two of them: "Invisible Shoe 2" and "Goldsculpt 1".

Overall, a very worthwhile trip. Thank you -despite my pernickity comments - to curator Angela O'Kelly.

Sewing "cake" or "frosting"

Reading another blog about sewing, the blogger, Tasia, discusses her concept of "frosting" and "cake" and how she much prefers sewing frosting.
She puts it much better than I ever will! And you can find her post here.
Put simply:

• frosting = fancy dresses, beautiful fabrics, lushness, showing-off, fun and frolics
• cake = jeans or black skirt, for example. the sensible, classic items of clothing that form staples in a wardrobe.

As a designer, I think I'm ALL about the cake!!! I don't go for frills and decoration for the sake of it, I want my core object to be beautiful and practical and wearable and interesting. 

I wonder what my favourite cake is...? I do love lemon drizzle.

I certainly and absolutely prefer a soft lemony sugary cake to a cupcake, for example, which is normally all sponge and mostly sugar-coated excessive swirl of excessive coloured sugary cone on top.

My reason for sewing is to make wearable unique clothes that suit my style and my shape. I have no desire to be a couture fashion designer or be on the catwalks. If my friends come to me with fabric and an idea, and I can produce an outfit, I'll be happy!

Sewing Project #1

I started going to sewing classes recently on Wednesday evenings in a nearby Technical College; night classes for adult-learning.

I love it!

I bought a simple pattern to start with: Simplicity 2906 "It's So Easy" Skirt and Purse

The purse was sent to my sister-in-law before I got a chance to take a photograph.

Here is the skirt I made in the class, slowly, gradually, over six evenings (and some homework!):

The red fabric is not appropriate, so the teacher says. It didn't hem well... but then I'm not a great hand-sewer and was instructed to hem by hand. But I think I probably bought a basic cheap cotton mix red fabric. I'm begining to learn that the key to nice garments is starting off with a nice fabric...! The second project will also demonstrate this lesson:

The fabric in this blue skirt is a heavy cotton/linen type; almost suitable for worker's overalls. I find it so hard to assess these things in a shop. I made this item in an afternoon.

Although I not overly happy with my finished items and will probably not wear them, I have learnt a lot of dressmaking skills already:

• inserting a zip
• dealing with a lining (the red skirt is lined)
• what is twill tape?
• body measurements
• reading a pattern, the conventions used etc
• not to mention putting thread on a bobbin, threading the sewing machine
• stitch used for hemming by hand
• that tacking or basting is sometimes more useful and easier than pinning
• not always necessary to do back stitch (eg at bottom of side seam which will be turned into hem)
• side-split (red skirt)
• what are the selvages?
• pressing the seams
• zig-zagging the edge of fabric to protect from fraying
• tailor tacking (well I should have learned it but not very good at it!)
• darts and how to make/sew them
• ... and other little things, I'm sure.
• oh - most importantly - the key to a nice garment is starting with a nice fabric ;)

Sewing a purse

My flatmate wanted a purse that was slim enough to fit in her back pocket. But also had dividers for coins / notes / cards.

It was her birthday. I headed into town.

There are so many basic purses in the shops. €4, €5, €7, €8 and onwards and upwards for a zip attached to a pretty-patterned fabric; no dividers!

I popped in to the trimmings shop and bought a 4" zip for €1.50 and with some black satin fabric I had at home, proceeded to piece together the purse.

Here's the design:

• 4x rectangles of fabric, same size + zip
  
• turn down the long edge one of the rectangles and sew an edge - do this with two of the rectangles
• sew the zip onto a long edge of the other two rectangles
• place all four pieces of fabric on top of each other (placing the edged pieces and the zip on the same side) and sew the three edges
• voilá

Museum of Style Icons

The Newbridge Silverware Museum of Style Icons made for a great day out. Free entry. Full of items.

Curating could have been a little less haphazard and a little more organised. The idea behind the displays wasn't always consistent. Having the umbrella from the photographs or the costumes from the films is a gorgeous idea - shame the video screens weren't working.

www.newbridgesilverware.com

Roberto Cavalli at H&M

This thought dates back to 8th November! The front page of the free newspaper "Metro" was an ad for Roberto Cavalli at H&M.

I don't get it - why do big name people put their names to a clothing line at a highstreet store. (Kate Moss: Top Shop, Madonna: wherever etc) Especially when, in this case, going by the ad, the dress is nowhere near as beautiful as the dresses that are undeniably those of the big-name designer.

The photo on the front page picture is abominable too - with the David Beckham looklalike peering out of a red sports car. He doesn't appear to be conscious in any way of the girl that has stepped out, or the dress she's wearing. To say nothing of the eyeshadow, gold bling on her finger and knecklace of strategic length.

I first became aware of Roberto Cavalli (not being a big fashion-head) when Victoria Beckham modelled his dress on the catwalk and he designed others for her, here's three of my favourites that really stood out.

Oh to have to opportunity/money/occasion to wear the vase dress! The yellow dress is the one Cavalli designed for the Beckham's pre-World Cup party. It featured in a documentary about the event (it's was hard to track down a picture of it on the web), if I remember correctly it had to be sewn onto her. Beautiful. And such a striking, luminous colour.

I could keep going about signature architects like Calatrava producing bridges for cities in the same kind of mass production sense as the H&M Cavalli venture, but I'll leave architecture out of this post.