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West Indian Parade
Brooklyn, 2006

West Indian Parade
Brooklyn, 2005

West Indian Parade
Brooklyn, 2004

Dog/Cat Wrestling
660kb QT movie

Coney Island
July 4th, 2002

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Ha'Penny's Profile

Spent the am embroidering raw silk labels for this years crop of knits.

CU
posted by staceyjoy at 12:05 PM 2 comments

Felling better and much less stressed out lately, mostly because I have help at the shop a few days a week, {the clever Alexandra}. What a relief. Thank you so much, ALexandra!! Happy with the way things are going in general.

Shroom is getting complicated, and veering off in unrelated directions, which is not what I meant to do...back to only a few variations, if I'm going to get it done. This is stressing me out more than anything else right now, I just hate writing patterns, but it's absurd to not to. So I HAVE TO GET OVER IT. Trying. In certain ways, I'm extremely self indulgent, and this is like policing myself. Frustrating on every damn level.
posted by staceyjoy at 9:41 PM 2 comments

My shop will be carrying Seed magazine, and I'm very excited about it! "Science is Culture" is their motto, and that makes me happy. :->

Yesterday was a great day, I put on sneakers, and walked all over town checking out my resources for new things for the shop. By the time I got home, I could hardly walk anymore, my dogs were barking so loud. One of the things I found to work with are these gorgeous acrylic purse handles:
CU
I have some black mohair woven yardage for the actual purses. Underneath are silk yardage cuts for applique on sweaters. It was a really beautiful day, cool enough for a light cashmere sweater, the first of the season. I didn't bring my camera, {didn't want to carry it}, but I decided to bring it next time, and take pictures of some of my stops, the notions stores, etc. Wouldn't that be fun to see? Stay tuned next week, as these are weekly jaunts.
posted by staceyjoy at 11:36 AM 1 comments

Textilita is alive again, with an excellent new resource for fabrics...

Have things to take care of in the city all day today.
posted by staceyjoy at 11:49 AM 1 comments

Oh, digital knit-graphing is the MOST FUCKIN BORING THING! I have to get out of here, I've been pushing pixels around all day. SO BORING>
posted by staceyjoy at 5:29 PM 2 comments

Working on hat patterns most of the day:
CU
Simple relocation of decreases.

{and a small dent in endless errands later}.
posted by staceyjoy at 2:41 PM 0 comments

Isobel Weston's knitwear {the catsuit link from yesterday} is just larger than life:



And she's my new favorite knitwear designer right now! We've been emailing back and forth to determine whether I can get some of her mohair elbow length mittens for my shop this season. Keep your fingers crossed for me, they're incredible, and I want them!

Shop is stocked to to the gills with beautiful Fall clothes, and I can relax just a bit now. Pricing and steaming all day today to get ready for the weekend.

Here's another view of the Shroom:
CU

These hats are based on modular sections, and I realized what my problem is while working on it: I'm so used to cranking out endless variations on a theme, indeed, that what I'm made for in this life, that I cannot see an "end point", if that makes any sense. Too well trained to stop. SO in order to accomodate the way I work, which is not likely to change, I'm trying to work out a new business model to incorporate multiple versions. In other words, I'm putting together sets of a pattern, not a single pattern with no or few variations. And I have decided on an end point for this one, and given myself a deadline... :->
posted by staceyjoy at 10:57 AM 2 comments

Got a big ol booty? Like to show it off and stay warm at the same time? Mohair Catsuits. wow. This site is totally worth poking around in for eyepopping giant knits. {thnx, Ranjit!}
posted by staceyjoy at 12:21 PM 1 comments

Now knitting hats for the shop, and also writing patterns for sale! Yes, FINALLY! Thank you all for your patience, I plan to satisfy it soon. I'm about halfway through the first one for this season, called the "Shroom". I'm very interested in beret-like forms right now. This one is knitted in baby alpaca from knitpicks.com, a very warm and affordable option, the brim is cabled, and you only need one size needle {both circular and DPN} to make it, and 2 balls of yarn. I need to knit 2 or 3 more to test various versions {included w/pattern}, then it's going in the webshop before the end of September. Enjoying this.
CU

Otherwise, mountains of new Fall stock came into the shop this week, and I have to literally go and buy more hangers before I go in today to hang it all. Not a bad problem to have. :->
posted by staceyjoy at 11:32 AM 0 comments

Yesterday was a waste, both trade shows were full of overpriced European crap, easy to ignore. I placed one order for perforated neoprene jackets from France that are extremely cool. I'll be getting those in late October. I should be going to the other shows today, but I just can't do two days of that hell in a row. Going to go early tommorrow and open the shop a bit late if I have to. I have about 6 weeks of laundry and other things that really need attending to today, plus I'm tired.

I've been looking at lingerie for the shop. It is my practice to look at EVERYTHING, not just "name" brands or "organicly made by the hands of orphaned blind boys", etc. I see alot of real crap, that's true, but among the crap are some jewels, those make it into the shop, and since I'm dealing directly with manufacturers, it's at a great price. However, I reject ALOT. Please see some classics that will never be in RedLipstick:

Fish panties? Oh man...
CU

Great graphics for getting your all-in-one girdle on in an ELEGANTE' manner:
CU

Elegante' Body Supporting!
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This thing scares me!
CU

In my 20's, I wore these things for fun, I was barely a size 4, with no boobs to speak of, and it was cute. Now? Don't think it would have the same effect:

CU
posted by staceyjoy at 12:05 PM 0 comments

Off to trade shows all day today, and maybe tommorrow too. My friend Anna is back from her honeymoon, so we will be doing a little renovation in the shop maybe next week for a few days, planning that. Shelves, curtains, another dressing room, some painting.

Moving forward on all fronts at a steady clip, and happy for it. Animals have gotten over moving trauma/disorientation, and seem happy/relaxed here. Calm household again. Very important.

Have to hit the road.
posted by staceyjoy at 10:58 AM 0 comments

An overwhelming amount of new fall clothing came in yesterday, and more is expected today, so Alexandra is coming in this afternoon to help tag and arrange. What a relief. I successfully fought off the first cold, but now I definitely have one, made worse by insomnia because I have so much to do, and it's on my mind. Until the end of the year it's all "pedal to the metal". sigh. Next week are numerous trade shows where I'll be inspecting/ordering Spring '07. Suspend disbelief.
posted by staceyjoy at 1:48 PM 0 comments

In the city all day shopping for the shop and geting supplies of various kinds. Next week are trade shows taking up both my days off. This is my now busy season, at least until February or March, when it will calm down a bit.

Had the first shoplifter of the year last week, she got away with a leather bag. If I ever catch anyone trying to snag anything from my little shop, there will be a beatdown involving the wooden bat residing behind my desk, until the cops come and take you away to the hospital. Try it and see if I'm kidding. Seriously, if you must steal, do it from a big box behemoth who won't miss it, you flaming asshole.
posted by staceyjoy at 10:57 AM 2 comments

Ok, the downside to coding at work is constant interruptions. I am making progress on the webshop though, just not as quickly as I had hoped. End of September will bring back 9 or so colors of wool over the knee socks from RedLipstick favorite Lisa B. Those are going up online as well. Love those things, they're so soft and warm, and do stay up.

Going to Ikea on Monday with Marta for clothing storage for me and new sheepskins for the pets, can't wait. Oh meatballs, here I come! I gave away my big, dark dresser before I moved, and now am dressing out of large plastic bags. :-> Getting tired of it.
posted by staceyjoy at 10:11 AM 1 comments

My merino and cotton tights from Germany came in yesterday, along with an interesting selection of them from Levante'. Going to try to get these in the webshop today, as soft, high quality wool tights are difficult to find, but have to make sure I can reorder quickly first, they sell out fast here.

I'm addicted to this delicious stuff: Nutrisoda.

They're having a half price sale when you buy a charity tee from South Africa, it's such a great deal. I recently found these in the supermarket for $2. a can.

Studio building drama going on, just what I need right now. :-< Will hopefully be resolved by Monday. Rented a space two weeks ago to a pathological liar who bounces checks. *sigh* She's gotta go.

Anyone here in Brooklyn interested in a sweet little Shi Tzu? Little Roger is a real gentleman, housetrained and mellow. He's 4 years old, and needs a new home. He gets along with other dogs and cats, and even kids. Please email me or call me at the shop if you'd like to meet him. He really is a fuzzy little doll who just needs some TLC and a permanent place to live.




posted by staceyjoy at 1:22 PM 3 comments

The Chicks on Speed 3 CD compilation "Girl Monster" will be released in the US in October! {Pulsallama is the leadoff on the second CD}. I'm going to sell these in the shop, and we're in amazing company. Go Estrogen!

It was so, so nice to wake up in my apt this am. Yesterday I got a brand new stove, and my friend Marta was over all day, and we deep cleaned the whole place! Thank you so much, Marta! She's an artist who owns a small housecleaning company on the side, anyone in Brooklyn need her services, drop me an email staceyatredlipstickdotnet} and I'll pass on the contact info. Very Highly Recommended! My apt is spotless! I'm loving this! It's been a lifelong dream to have help cleaning up, and my dream was realized yesterday. :-> Even my bitchy witchy cat was laying around PURRING last night!

Speaking of Kitty, the hunted down and killed waterbug count is up to 8. We determined the cause to be some renovation next door, not sure how they're getting in, though. Hope this is the end of it. 8 is enough. haha
posted by staceyjoy at 1:25 PM 2 comments

My pictures of the parade made Gothamist again this year. WooHoo!
posted by staceyjoy at 9:40 AM 0 comments

A Flickr set of the 2006 West Indian Day Parade is here:

Click for Full Set

Ranjit did about a third of it, but Alexandra and I walked the whole route as well as the pre-parade grounds. As usual, the food was incredible, and no, I didn't try the Goats Head Soup, but Alexandra did! It was a gorgeous day, perfect for this. Almost all the pictures are of costumes. I uploaded the high-res versions so you can click on the "all sizes" text above each picture if you want to see it very large for detail. I'm a bit sunburned and I have a slight stomachache, but it was oh, so worth it. I love this each year.
posted by staceyjoy at 10:14 PM 0 comments

September has always been my favorite month, it has my birthday in it, the weather is lovely, and things start anew after sleepy, hot August. Tommorrow is going to be a wonderful day at the West Indian Day Parade, I'm slightly better with the camera this year. Results will be online tommorrow night!

Wireless has been installed at the shop, which means the Webshop is relaunching in...oh, I gave myself a few weeks, say mid-September. Soft-launches of individual sections will be mentioned here for earlybirds, like last time.

Been working on a few rare custom orders for longtime customers, I usually don't have time for that, but I decided to make them as a thank you {and some pay, of course}.

Have a big pile of hats and scarves waiting for steaming/blocking. It's still a bit early for the woolies, although lightweight mohair knitted lace dresses are selling quickly, {already}.

I Love Fall! Sweater Weather! I can knit wool without cringing and sweaty hands! This season I SWEAR TO FUCKING ZEUS I'm going to get my shit together and post some patterns for sale. Have 4 or 5 in semi-finished states, needing probably only an hour or three to complete. *sigh* Somehow I think having the wireless at the shop will aid my progress. We'll see. It's never been a top priority, not sure why.
posted by staceyjoy at 1:03 AM 4 comments