Eat, Drink, and Be Merry

I am very excited to be designing a production for FringeNYC - a new musical named Eat, Drink and Be Merry. More details to follow!

Quick Tip: baby powder

One of the best tips I ever received was from a coworker once when I accidently got some machine oil onto a garment I was sewing . Baby powder will get out oil stains and spots. This works for spot found on clothing from last nights dinner, too!
All you have to do is to generously sprinkle the powder all over the stain. Let it sit for a few minutes. Then brush it off. If it seems the oily part of the stain has not come out, then repeat and launder as normal. I have even tried this trick on shirts I have washed already not knowing then was same type of greasy stain. To my surprise it worked!!



-- Post From My iPod

Quick Tip: A vodka martini please

Back in the days before Fabreeze, costumers would use a half/half mixture of vodka and water to take odors out of clothing. I still prefer using this combo, personally. It does not smell like perfume, and some actors are really sensitive to perfume scents. It really is odorless. Caution: anything that water would stain will also be stained by this combo. But the same would hold true of Fabreeze.
Just put my vodka martini in a spray bottle, shaken, not stirred.

-- Post From My iPhone

Quick Tip: Custom tattoos

I love being able to help people out. This week I received two calls for assistance in regard to the same issue. Made me think this would be a great piece of information to have on my blog!

In the Spring of 2008, I costumed a WONDERFUL production of Almost, Maine at Hudson Stage. The play is performed by four different actors, playing 19 characters. One of the characters has a tattoo, but because the actor was playing so many other parts, an makeup application was not possible. I found a wonderful tattoo paper at BelDecal online. The tattoo goes on in a minute and peels right off when you are done. The key is to cut around the tattoo as closely as possible before applying it to the skin. Did not have any issues with it coming off and looked very real!
The only issue I had was that the instructions that came along with the paper were a bit confusing, but hopefully they corrected that problem. Excellent product!

Quick tip: bobbin art

My students at AMDA are always surprised when they experience what I like to call "bobbin art" - the lovely mess of thread that happens on the underside of your sewing project sometimes. It's messy, your garment gets stuck, and its generally frustrating.
For the new sewing student it is boggling. When this happens to you - check your top thread. 95% of the time that is the problem. Of course you can prevent this by making sure you are threaded correctly before you put your foot to the peddle.
Happy sewing!


-- Post From My iPhone

iPod

My application addiction surfaces again!!! Using blogpress on my IPod to write this!!!



-- Post From My iPod

Angel Wings

Recently, I am designed and created costume pieces for The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at John Jay College. Two of my characters wore Angel Wings. I had bought some inexpensive angel wings online, but it was clear that those wings were only going to work for rehearsals. I did not want the wings to be much wider that the ones they had already been using. I tried to find some commercially available wings that were taller, so they would be seen above their bodies, but no luck (at least within our budget). I made a decision to make my own.

I started with making a rough pattern on my actress using poster board. I pinned it on her during the fitting and marked how tall and wide I would like the wing to be.





















I used my rough pattern to draw out a shape that I thought that would work. I made a new paper pattern of the shape.




I decided to use buckram and millinery wire to make the base of the wings. I cut two pieces of the buckram for each wing. I then sewed millinery wire around the entire wing using the widest zig-zag stitch on my machine. This has to be done slowly and carefully. If you are not an accurate stitcher, you will end up breaking a lot of needles.



To add stability, I sewed diagonal pieces of millinery wire across the wing.



Next, I started to sew feathers on. I purchased 15 bags of white turkey feathers from ESKAY Novelties here in New York City. I alternated sewing the feathers on the front and the back of the wings, once again using a zig-zag stitch. I started from the bottom and worked my way up. I just had to be very careful not to hit the millinery wire as I was stitching.







I just kept layering feathers, till I made my way all the way up the wing. The top layers once again laid over millinery wire, so I had to be very careful. I was very happy with the end results. The wings were extremely lightweight. I wish I would have made a few more cross bars, especially at the top of the wings, just to add a bit more in the stability department, but really they worked quite well.



I cannot stress enough to be very careful when dealing with the millinery wire and sewing on a machine. Broken needles can fly off and can cause injury.

Quick Tip: Blood Removal

You all are going to think I am a morbid person. Really I am not, but blood has been a constant problem in my costuming life. Whenever I am working on a white dress/costume, I always poke my finger and bleed all over it. It inevitable. I don't mean to sound disgusting, but we deal with sharp objects and needles, and as careful as costumers try to be, accidents happen.

So, If you are working on something and this happens to you - spit on it. No, really. There are enzymes in your saliva that gets out your own blood. That's the key - your own saliva and your own blood. It does not work if it's someone else blood with your saliva.

Quick Tip: Stage/Fake Blood Removal

I learned this tip from a wonderful special effects artist on the set of Sea of Dust named Josh Turi. Fake Blood can be removed from Costumes/Clothing with shaving cream. Barbasol seems to work the best, in my opinion, and it's one of the least expensive shaving creams out there. I would apply the shaving cream to the spot and scrub it out with a gentle brush. Then Rinse.

Next time you have a horrible fake blood accident.... give it a shot.

From my experience, the shaving cream did not do any damage to the garment (even the dry clean only ones), and it didn't leave any pink spots from the dye in the blood. I even tried this on a costume that I created for The Second Tosca, that played for a month. In that case, the blood was on the garment for the entire month run of the show. It all came out of the period dress, easily.

iPod and my costuming life

I have never been a person to go out and buy the latest gadgets. I received the iPod Touch for a Christmas gift last year and it has completely changed my life as a costumer. I used to have to carry around folders of sketches, notes, and scripts and now I have it all handy on one device.

Currently, I am designing The Last Days of Judas Iscariot for John Jay College. I am also designing two productions at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. All three of these shows have over twenty cast members, and I need to keep organized in order for it all to get done in an efficient, timely manner.

I have discovered many applications and services (often free) through my iPod Touch that have made my life so much more efficient, and not to mention “greener”. (Something we are all trying to do nowadays).

Using my MobileMe account in conjunction with the free MobileFiles application I have uploaded the PDF version of my script for Last Days. I have all of my measurement charts and costume plots on my iPod using the MobileFiles App. You can also upload sketches and research .jpgs if needed. Because I have 35 cast members in Last Days, I have photographed them all to keep them straight. I uploaded those pictures onto the iPod via iPhoto and now have a visual reference of them at all times. I can sync up my iCal application with my iPod, so I can keep all of my appointments, meetings and technical rehearsals straight, and it will give me a notice of things coming up with an alarm function.

I ordered some shirts from Thailand yesterday for Last Days, and I will be able to track them through TrackerLite. If I am not sure what the address of a store might be or how to get there – there are applications for that. I use white pages, GoogleMaps and HopStop, but I know there are several free and paid applications to do this. I use ShopShop for simple shopping lists. I am playing with MobileFiles Pro to see if I can update my budgets and large shopping lists that way – stay tuned.

There are several applications I can use as a freelancer. I now carry my reel and portfolio with me at all times. I can give my business card to new contacts using BeamMe. I am pretty consistently able to keep up with my email, Facebook, and tweets.

As I find more applications and functions that will make our lives easier, I will tweet or write about them. I am in love with the idea of not carrying around all of these charts and scripts around on paper anymore. When you are a costumer in NYC, and need to carry your world around with you on your shoulder all day, anything to make that load lighter is amazing. I am looking forward to the day when I can have a completely electronic and very mobile Costuming Bible with me at all times.

NYMF

Last night, I attended a meet and greet for the New York Musical Theatre Festival. My first foray into the theatre world was through musical theatre, I always have had a special place in my heart for musicals. I love working on new plays and musicals, so it seems to be a natural fit to me.

The event seemed to be a huge hit! There were so many talented people in attendance at this event! It was exciting to hear about the projects the writers were developing and the shows that are already out there being pushed by producers. One thing is for certain to me; the recession will not hurt creativity!

There was one other thing that was obvious to me as I mingled about last night. The energy in the room was absolutely electric. When you have so many passionate people in a room together, you cannot help but feel that “vibe”. There was so much hope and excitement; you cannot help but to be caught in that energy. I am a person who is extremely passionate about what I do, and when I am among others who feel the same the effect is just intoxicating.

This energy is the thing I also love about New York City, and I feel very fortunate to be living here!

Pleasure to meet you!

Welcome to my Blog!

I am writing this as I watch the Academy Awards - A celebration of what is best in Hollywood. It's exciting to see all of the beautiful fashion that is walking the red carpet this year! (When I receive my Oscar, I hope to be wearing a gown as gorgeous as the one worn tonight by Penelope Cruz.)

I plan to write about what inspires me, about my business, and my career. I hope to talk about the best, and with luck, not so much of the worse, of what is going around me as I go on about my life as a designer. I hope you will enjoy this journey with me!