A lesson learned

On saturday 3rd March the weather was like this. 

The fashion shoot was to take place at 

Captains Cooks Cottage garden.

I panicked, oh dear, the venue, the hairdresser, make artist, model and photographer was all booked. Oh my dear Lord I thought, I've worked so hard at preparing this day. 

The Venue - Captain Cooks Cottage

These photos are going to show the world who I am. 

Part of me decided if it didn't happen it was because it just wasn't the right time. For 20 years I've been telling myself it just hasn't been the right time. 

The other part of me was desperate and crying out - 'Please let the weather be OK'. I realised that I hadn't made a contingency plan of bad weather;  so sure that it was going to happen. Blind faith hey? I'm sure those reading this who have a faith in Jesus are shaking your heads and smiling. Yes I can see a parable or some sermon coming out of this too.

As I woke on Sunday morning, I looked at the weather and realised that it would be clear by mid-morning when the shoot was to take place. As I drove over to pick up the model the revelation came. Man can control all he/she likes but somethings in Life will not be controlled - the weather being one of them. The maker of the universe controls this. And My Lord gave me perfect weather. 

the sun came and went came and went!

There were moments when grey clouds began to cover the blue but a heartfelt prayer silently lept from my lips and the Sun came out. So much so that there was one occasion that John Englezos - my No. 1 photographer was  driven to distraction by the sun coming in and out at the rate of minute by minute. Seriously  he would set the exposure only to be ready to press the button to find the sun was out again.  

The sun keeps shining

So as I now contact fabric suppliers and machinists to forecast how much the collection would cost to manufacture. I'm aware of all this preparation on my part is only a small part of the equation. The rest is up to me believing I can walk on water and the factors that can not be controlled will fall into place because the man who made the weather has the plans and purposes just for me. 

Here is a taster of the Jewel Collection. I shall blog the process at some stage. It will hopefully help budding design students. But for now folks this wee blog is all about me. 

I have a new mission statement - moved on from the Holstee manifesto to this : 

To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.

Grey, brown and beige

Well I'm back in Melbourne. Five weeks in the UK, ten beds later plus one sofa - its good to be home. Yes England is my Homeland, and Melbourne, Australia is home to me right now.
The other day, I met up with my no 1 photographer, John Englezos. Check out his website - http://www.johnephotography.com/ 
We did our usual Nova cinema cheap seats Monday - Lovely.  This time, we chose Tinker, Tailor Soldier Spy. 
Checkout the plot at, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1340800/

I was hoping for a griping Dynamic thriller. The 1979 BBC series  of the John Le Carre novel was a favourite of my Mum's. So it was with fond memories, I sat in expectation. 

The costume designer was Jacqueline Durran, I'd recently tweeted my delight of her work on the newest film version of Pride and Prejudice. Now what was she going to do with a 1970's spy thriller?



Grey, brown and beige, very clever for the first few scenes, but too much to handle for the entire movie. It wasn't just the costumes, but the set as well, the lighting, the whole visual aesthetics. The acting was good, very good, but just like the colour scheme, clever, but perhaps a bit boring.


 Having said that, while finding images for my blog as often is the case, I found this blog celebrating the costumes of this movie! http://hollywoodmoviecostumesandprops.blogspot.com/2011/12/original-movie-costumes-from-tinker.html

Costumes from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

on display at ArcLight Hollywood cinema

One final note, talking about grey brown and beige. Does that mean that my longe room is 'a bit boring' ?

Lets get back on the horse called Blogging

After a break, not knowing what to blog, I'm reminded of the Holstee Manifesto:

So - I'm inspired to chat about what I've been  doing.
Just been watching the new Upstairs Downstairs - Wow Sunday evening is all about costume drama on Aussie TV, I love it! I remember the show the first time. In the 70's, being a little girl and loving watching the beautiful Nicola Pagett

Now we have in 2010/1 the lovely Keeley Hawes. 

The costme designer Amy Roberts has designed the PBS production. Amy has won a BAFTA Craft award 2008 Best Costume Design for Oliver Twist. I wander if she needs an assistant LOL!

Tonight I found myself; that is I found my name on the IMBD under Killing time 1998, this was made a few years earlier, it was my first costume job after my PG Diploma in Theatre Design. Hello Hollywood, I'm here!
But I believe 2012 is going to be the year I go back to my first love - FASHION. But this time round I have the experience and influence of costume designing and making.

My germ of an idea is germinating, my first fitting went well, I hopfully have the very talented Pauline Chambers to make the corsets and the most amzing Theresa to spritually guide me in the ways of the Lord and in the Fashion maunfacturing industry. How? I here you say, I know how blessed am I. That Theresa is part of my Church family, lives very near and just happened to be a fashion manufacturer for 20 years!

The Germ of an idea is my love of period underpinnings, chiffon frills and flounces, layering and clashing pattern. Not quite sure what to call the range, hence I'm still calling it 'a germ of an idea'. I'm adding to my FB page - Zvi Design, as it grows.

So to get back to Upstairs Downstairs, I love my costume and given the opportunity I'd take it, But for this season in my life, I'm stepping up to the mark and saying, I am Alexandra Zvi, Designed by God to Design.

Voices

Before I chat VOICES!

Tonight, I was at a church conference my head was buzzing with ideas here are a couple of the pages The content of the talk was great, its just the ideas in my head seem to be overflowing left right and centre.

have sent away for a regency corset pattern, have an idea to make it out of forces camouflage from Tim, its making the time, but the idea keeps flying about my  brain I must catch it and bring to reality:)

have promised to make jessica a Flemenco dress, once voices is over, now I need to investigate how they are made.

 Now to VOICES - This is the play I'm involved with:


VOICES tells the stories of men with mental illnesses who live in a boarding house in Hawthorn. Based on true stories, it explores the tragic loss and debilitating stigma of mental illness and the creativity, character and hope that spring out of it.

http://candlelightproductions.com.au/index.php/box-office

At the moment Candlelight productions is all consuming. Don't know what will come of it, but trust the Lord that it will be good.

This is a short blog as I need to get some decent sleep, keeping a balance of a full time teaching job and establishing my creativity as a new full time job is proving to be a challenge. I can do all things thr' Christ who strengths me

Lord give me strength:)

The white wedding dress

Well I some how think I've created yet another profile on blogger trying to get to this page to write my second blog! Hey ho, I don't think at this stage anyone is actually reading me any way.
I intended to sew tonight but ended up talking to a family friend in the UK which prompted me in following her idea - Thanks Marion. The idea: to Twitter/Fb a suggestion  to my 'fans' that if you visit the White Wedding Dress exhibttion in Bendigo,  Zvi Design can make you an Edwardian style wedding dress if you want! I've actually tweeted this twice and because my twitter is conected to my FB page and that is linked to my personal FB page my firends will wander what's going on? Or perhaps they will smile to themselves at my efforts in marketing my brand.

I made this dress in 10 days during the last school holidays, I was desperate to create something beautiful.

Marketing myself just doesn't come naturally, this is an area that has always seemed to elude me. How do people believe in themselves in the face of their doubts and competition?
 So what can I share today? My thoughts on the white Wedding dress exhibition in Bendigo maybe. I was looking forward to this very much, too much perhaps because ironically I will need to visit the exhibition again as I ended up suffering a bad migraine and had to lie horizontal in the back of a teaching colleagues car!

The Bendigo Art Gallery website states: 'The White Wedding Dress presents the most romantic, glamorous and extravagant wedding dresses from the Victoria & Albert Museum’s superb collection. Every woman wants to look beautiful for her wedding and today the traditional, Western European white wedding dress is the garment of choice for brides across countries and cultures. This exhibition asks why and how this has happened.

Normal Hartnell

Wedding dresses also unlock memories and awaken emotions. Lovingly preserved, sometimes by several generations, their fabric and form conjure up the physical presence of the bride on one of the most momentous days of her life and form a tangible link between past and present. This exhibition highlights the histories of the dresses, revealing fascinating details about the lives of the wearers and offering an insight into their circumstances and fashion choices.

Also on display in the exhibition will be gowns by celebrated designers, including Vera Wang, Norman Hartnell, Christian Dior, Zandra Rhodes, Lanvin and Lacroix. Also included are sumptuous wedding dresses worn by celebrities Dita Von Teese and Gwen Stefani.'


As I cued up to go in with the other teachers on the Textiles Proffesional development day, (pre- migraine) I was reminded that as a young teen I created scrap books (yes I  filled more than one!) full of  wedding dresses, I would cut images of local brides out of the free news papers, hold onto sunday supplements and find photos of family weddings to paste in my albums. For a long time all I wanted to be was a wedding dress designer. 


It all started when I  was  12.  I  was with Mum visiting one of her school friend's   Her daughter had recently married and the wedding dress was dressed on a manquin. It was cream with leg of mutton sleeves with antique lace inserts and a hight neck, very Edwardianesque, Very 80's. I loved it, that was it I wanted to make peoples wedding dresses.  


By 14 however I'd moved on to other garments. I was the only one who put there hand up in a careers talk. Stating  wit conviction that I wanted to be a Fashion Designer.  Now as a Textiles teacher in a girls school, I often hear teenage girls declaring they are going to be a Fashion designer.  I smile and remember my dreams. 


I'm still holding on to them, believing that as my tag line states on my Google + account  


Designed by God to design


I'm wandering how much media presence will it take? it feels like I'm standing in the market square, naked shouting here I am , can you see me is it working? Maybe I should get my friends to read this and pass it on? mmm  who is the Right sort of person to read this blog?


I'll chat more another time. Do visit the exhibition their is so much beautful workmanship. So many hours of hand beading and pattern cutting  Inspirational.

My first Blog

 I've just set up a google page thinking this was a blog page. So here I am writing my first blog and wandering how this is going to help me reach my goal. What is my Goal? To see the door open, walking through it to become the creative costume designer who makes her living from it!

A chat with Ray at work today about blogging was all about the question; is blogging an egocentric thing or is it a sharing giving sort of thing. Have I got anything interesting to share and will it enrich the people who read it.

If you read this, tell me what do you think? Is blogging good or bad?

So what can I say about me. I'm designed by God to design. It's as simple as that, my faith defines who I am.  I've been attempting to separate this from my online presence on Twitter; my Christian persona being, AlexFulloffaith and my designer account being Zvi Design.

But here, I have decided to merge the two, become my self and see what happens. Can a person be openly Christian and still be successful in the world of the Arts?

Time will tell. For now, I must go to bed. Until the doors open I need to teach to pay the bills and so need my sleep. I don't want to let my Girlies down. I'm also a Textiles teacher, so to be myself here, I must acknowledge that School is part of it and hey I have wonderful anecdotes to tell. Such as the time Betty (yes I really do teach a Betty Fox!) asked me, "do I really need to put  the string through the hole?" "Yes Betty" I replied, "you need to thread the needle or the machine won't work!"