hi ho, hi ho, it's off to new york we go

my ability to blog is becoming less and less as the fashion stuff becomes more and more.  these are two things i love doing so i am going to have to find a way to manage both.

on June 21, we were excited to be part of Full Figured Fashion Week Indie Designer section in NYC, and i think it's only fitting that you get to share all the fun from the lead up to the event - here is brisbane to NYC.

Does anyone really have any idea of the work involved in putting a collection together - i do, now, but earlier.....  It's a lot, but it is necessary to have some nonsense to break up the crazy.

Arrived in Fiji on Thursday arvo to be greeted with the mode of transport for the saturday night trip to LA.

my sister had organised a girls night out to celebrate our upcoming event - it was one bottle of sparking, a cocktail, then back to work

really it was work - it was necessary to do some runway moves to ensure that all was on track.  Do you know how hard it is to take clear photos when you are laughing so much?

 

 

 serious business was to be had as we did the photo shoot for the bowling club collection in suva.

then, after some wine and tequila, there was no photos of anything till the next day, when my nephews found out that they were coming to new york with us - little did they or us know, that it would be in a few hours time.

heading off in our fancy transport.

 

a good luck photo before we headed off.

arrival at the airport to find that we were all in the upper deck on the jumbo.  there were more bags then this and we were off to nyc.

i know, it's just a teaser, but there was so much going on that even when i think back to it, it's a bit of a whirlwind, that even i am having trouble comprehending, so stay tuned.

a little bit of crazy

it's been about 15 days since my last blog, which for a blogger is WAY to long, but given what's going on it's understandable.

I remember in about 2001, after i had returned from India, I used to go into a cafe in west end and I must have worn some pretty fancy outfits, cause i still remember one of the waitresses asking me if i was a fashion designer.  No I said, i have a boring day job, but i do love to make my own stuff.

Fast forward 10 years and I still have a day job (not boring though), still like to make my own stuff and i still get people commenting on my outfits and if anyone were to ask me that question - am i a fashion designer - the answer can clearly be defined as YES I AM.

Our efforts to get to Full Figured Fashion Week in NYC have been nothing short of amazing.  In nearly 2 months, we have designed a collection, my sisters have sourced amazing fabrics, our mum has been, and is still drafting patterns, my husband is helping with the marking up of patterns, Christine has flown in to help out with the details, our line has hit production and we are all so fucking tired.  So this morning, while everyone is sleeping, i have drifted from the well constructed project plan my sister has put together to sit and reflect on what's going on.

Doing our show in Fiji was fantastic and who knew what was to come.

Now, being surrounded by patterns and fabric at home and seeing our production occurring first hand for NYC is kinda crazy and surreal.

 

And just as crazy as being mentioned in two blogs the curvy fashionista as a designer(s) to know (thank you for acknowledging our look) and the plus side of me who have both seen what we have to offer in the plus size space, which we are really proud to represent. 

Now, I really have to get back to that project plan, even though it's not even 8am on a Saturday morning,

I never had doubt that what we do, along with being invited to NYC is amazing, but I did struggle with the enormity of me being in the middle of it all and how big a deal it is. It has now hit me that we are on the way to something big (pardon the pun).

I really want to thank all my friends and colleagues who have wholeheartedly shared in the journey that is taking place. My boss has been fantastic in supporting the bigger picture and the encouragement that has surrounded me has been nothing short of amazing.  To have everyone believe in what we do and wish us nothing but good luck and success is something i am grateful for.  So thank you.....we'll see you on the runway!

bill cunningham

dave and i recently watched an awesome doco about a new yorker called bill cunningham.
good on dave for finding this little gem on the telly.
bill appears to be the true initiator of street fashion photography and  it would seem he still rides his pushy around NYC looking for his next unique fashionista.  he is 83 and i imagine that as long as he has air in those tyres, he's gonna keep on peddling.
i was mesmerised by this guy in the doco - shail upadhya - an ex UN official from Nepal who has an amazing sense of fashion, which i managed to snap from the telly,

he's clearly a popular guy as demonstrated in my screen shot, and no wonder with a wardrobe like this that i can only describe as inspiring.  what's not to love....

who's the boss of the park?

our little campsite - site 48 - at fingal was just the best spot.  it was powered, it was a grass pad, it was just a hop skip and a jump to the beach and the amenities block.

there's something so nice about fingal as even though it's near the gold coast, it's not really near anything.  we did see one crack head, but that was small pickings compared to some places.

this time last year, i was freezing my bits off in new york city due to going to visit my sister and this time this year, that same sister is still freezing her bits off, so it seemed only fair that we skyped her and took her for a trip to the beach.  she got to see the beauty that was fingal, albeit blurry, but it's the thought that counts.

i guess there was some similarity with what may have been happening in the snow in NYC.

i really did make the most of just doing nothing.

over and over again. 

 

 

there were three caravans of note near our tent and i did wonder why on the first day, the oldies in these particular vans crossed over to the vans on the other side of the road for what appeared to be a very friendly social session and vice versa happened night after night.

 

and then it all became clear when our neighbour at the back came and said hi and delighted in telling us that they have been coming to fingal in their caravan's for 34 years.  he had in fact introduced his cousin Nouk, to his friend Terry all those years ago and they all come to the beach each year. their kids have grown up and have their own kids, but these people just keep on coming.

but this year, there little group was split up by the death of Geoff and we were on his spot.  must have been very strange for them all and this had been carved into the tree on where he usually had his van.

the weird thing about holiday parks is that the kids form friendships very easily and wander around the park day and night, day after day, just doing nothing but acting real cool with their skateboards and short shorts, but on our last night, i was lying in the tent listening to the goings on outside and it became evident who was really top dogs of the park, when i heard the neighbour Nouk and someone else coming up the street..........watch out kids, the oldies are coming through, she said.

Lovely Days

last weekend dave and i watched the movie 127 hours. it's a recent flick and true story about a guy who gets into a bit of trouble when out hiking through a canyon.  i'd had it on the recorder for a while and we decided to clear it off to make space for more important stuff like bold and the beautiful, as you do. okay i thought, i can paint my nails, have a snooze on the couch and watch the movie go by and then hit delete. perfect arvo!

off we go, and it's all chirpy fun, good times, till the boulder moves and he falls and traps his arm for what ended up being five days (remember, true story). At this particular moment, i just felt sick because that feeling of being trapped is something that goes along with the stupid anxiety that i have carried around for so many years. believe it or not, i am a loud but quietly anxious girl who has random bouts of the terror that is anxiety and with that comes the feeling of being trapped.  Thankfully it's not full blown panic attacks any more, but all the same, it sucks.

anyway, to cut the story short (that's a bad pun), the guy Aron Ralston - toughest guy on the planet doesn't tell anyone where he's going (take note of this important point if going trekking anywhere in the jungle, or to DFO, takes no phone, (perhaps because in 2003 there was no iPhone) and didn't take his pocket knife and ends up in a bit of a predicament....

the realisation comes that the only way to survive is by drinking his own pee and then eventually cutting off his trapped arm with a non name branded leatherman which he had used to chip away the rock and carve his birth and death years into the wall. oh geez, tough week hey - for the leatherman people, cause they could have made quids!  he fell asleep on his last night of being trapped, with the belief that he would die through the night.  he didn't and has gone on to do amazing things with his life.

in the movie soundtrack on his second day, up pops bill withers - lovely day and what a catchy little happy song to choose for a guy who's trying to work out a way to get out of his botherment.

This song would have to make every day seem better, no matter how bad it might seem. And when I tried to find what would have been a very funky 1970's video clip to post, there was nothing, except stupid videos that people had made to go with the track. And with that, i just had to make a stupid little video too (which probably took me about 127 hours) to celebrate some lovely days from over the past few years.

Enjoy the journey starring me, me, me and plenty of other family and friends and of course....... me.
Thanks to my nieces for randomly being chosen as the face of this.

Lovely Days from jan evans on Vimeo.

bye bye NYC

My last couple of days in NYC were pretty busy and the main focus was packing and eating.
Tuesday we had lunch at another vegan restaurant called candle 79 on the upper east side.  It was good, but not as great as our treat at Pure Food and Wine. This was my final city adventure day and there was time to gather a few pieces such as a much needed swimsuit for my one day back in Fiji, a pair of new fancy sunnies, cause god knows how i managed to lose my old pair and a take out dinner from a shakahari indian restuarant, which to my delight had barbie pink decor.
There was even a few more snow flurrys to round of my trip, but they quickly turned to ice ice baby - but i didn't mind, it just looked so damn pretty.

 what's not to love about a restaurant that has pink, pink then more pink

my final dinner was big fat pizza down in dumbo. 

with two big pizzas, two moody teenagers and my two sisters

  the ultra glowing building in the background is the trade centre memorial.  hearing my sister talk of her experience first hand was unbelievable and even more unbelievable that she was on her way to pick something up from the shopping complex under the towers on the morning of 9/11 and never made it there

 

 

in the reflection below is a round clock which belongs to an iconic apartment building in dumbo.  it's on the market for a measly 19 million - recently reduced from 23 million. not even with all my monopoly money could i grab this bargain

Even though the reason for being in new york was to help my sister find a place to live and move house after 15 years, as hard as it has been for her, we did what we could to make it fun - like pee your pants fun.  operation pee your pants, was a success, she's still looking for a place to live, but at least the task has been a bit easier for her and her girls.
So it was farewell freezing NYC and back to brissy via a day in humid fiji - where it was all about me, me me!

how old are you?

My day in NYC starts with a much needed coffee made made with love and finesse on the gaggia.
I did manage to make this for my sister and now it seems, she likes her coffee to be over the top.

In all the craziness of packing up my sisters house we did take a little time out on Friday to do some fun stuff.  Friday was soooo cold with rain and snow flurrys in the morning, blue sky, then cloud, then snow flurrys and the wind that only a polar bear would love.
But we braved it and headed off to the city.

 

On one of our subway trips we were in the front carriage and of course my photography skills rose to the occasion.  The front carriage is fun, cause you can see through to the tracks and all that lies ahead.

For me, our arrival at a station turned out to be something that looked like a golden bow.  It's so shiny, that i would probably buy it.

Our activity of choice was lunch at Pure Food and Wine which is a New York Icon.  I had never stepped into the world of raw vegan food before, but it made me very very happy.

 

 

What's the big deal about that, well it's fresh, pure and challenges what goes on in most people's eating world.  The choc mint sunday was a coveted item on the table, and had to be passed around for one spoonful at a time type of eating.  Tasting of this was highly monitored to ensure NO cheating and trying to sneak two tastes.

she is still trying to cut that biscuit

I think she was saying something like - back off bitches, this is all mine.

After this amazing meal, we went to our next destination Sephora via a quick snap of the chrysler building.

As we headed home, we decided that a glass of wine and a spot of karaoke would be fun if we could get a private booth at this place.  The place was busy and dark and as we stepped in we were asked for ID.  Oops i didn't bring any with me, why would i.  So as the lovely door girl was busy scruitineering my sister's ID's, she very politely asked me how old i was.  Seriously, HOW OLD AM I....(Old enough to be your mother, i'm thinking).  I AM 45, I say.  45.  Okay, you can go in, but next time remember your ID.

After no wine and no karaoke, we made it home and dined on leftovers and moet.  It was here we decided that an intervention was in order as my younger sister and I had some serious concerns about our older sister's choice of hat which she had been wearing religiously.

With hat intervention complete and a good nights sleep, we were back to doing what we do best....packing!