Friday Feature - Lulu Deux Millinery

Happy Friday, Folks!

        Okay, everyone! Only about 12 days left until the big day! Halloween will be here before you can say, "Tim Burton's Pumpkin King!"
Speaking of the director of all things creepy, how many of you are thinking of masquerading as the Corpse Bride, the Mad Hatter, or maybe just a Fancy Lady Who Lunches? Luckily, this week's interview is with shop LuluDeuxMillinery, and she's got the high quality headpiece you need to finalize the look. These accessories breathe a life of their own; especially my favorite, the Live Bold Pillbox Fascinator, which would look perfect on any little Pin-Up Girl jaunting about on All Hallow's Eve.

Live Bold Tattoo Pillbox Fascinator

And hey!, if you're feeling crafty, and have the time - this gal also sells millinery supplies! Enjoy the interview then head over to her shop. Don't worry, these creations aren't only appropriate for this holiday!

1. What is your shop name and URL?

Lulu Deux Millinery

luludeuxmillinery.etsy.com

2. To which Etsy Teams do you belong?

SF Etsy, Milliners of Etsy, Craft Fairs…it’s a living!, and a few business-related teams.

3. Please tell us about the items in your Etsy shop. What do you make? How did you learn your craft? What is involved in your creative process?

I create hats and fascinators using traditional millinery techniques. I also make hair accessories and sell millinery/costuming supplies.

Right out of high school I studied Apparel Design and was heavily influenced by historical costumes & millinery. 20-something years later, I still find a lot of inspiration in old-world techniques but I also rely heavily on modern technology. It’s a happy mix of the two. And I never stop learning! A few years ago I had the great pleasure of taking a course with Rose Cory in London, she was the official milliner for the Queen Mum!  It was wonderful, I would love to go back. 

Steampunk Top Hat

4. Tell us two (or more) other interesting things about you. 

I’m also an historic costumer, it’s my hobby. I also write sewing-related content for magazines and am a freelance educator for Janome America and Elna, Inc. I also teach sewing classes. 

5. What is your biggest challenge related to your Etsy shop?

Getting everything photographed! I also do shows so about 90% of my work isn’t online.  It’s something I’m really working on though. Now that I have new photo-editing software I’ve been going pretty nuts playing with photographs. Now I have a new hobby. :)

Red and Black Poppy Velvet Fascinator

6. What crafting skill(s) do you wish you had or hope to learn someday?

I’m still trying to learn how to knit and crochet. A lot of it just baffles me, and for some reason I don’t have the patience for it. I’ve been playing with knitting on road trips though. My hands MUST stay busy or I get fidgety.


7. What is the craziest gift you have ever received?

When my husband and I were first dating, he bought me a needle board (a tool used for pressing velvet) for my birthday. He searched all over the internet for it, all because I had mentioned in passing how much I wanted one. I knew then that he was a keeper!

Black Flower and Lace Fascinator

8. What does buying and selling local handmade mean to you, and how has it affected your life?

I very much believe in being a conscious consumer and I try to shop locally for everything I can. I’ve never been much of a recreational shopper so to me, buying something that has been created by another artisan is a real treat.


9. Where else can we find out more about you and/or your creations?

www.luludeuxmillinery.com

www.allthingsvintagerouge.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/lulusroom

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Treasury Team Presents: Alter Ego

I like the idea that the best Halloween costume is one that brings out a side of you that isn't normally seen and embraces it fully.  My college chemistry teacher also once started stripping in class while giving the advice that "the worst Halloween costume is when you go as yourself."  Once he got out of his professor clothes, he was wearing a neon bike racing outfit (phew!).  So either way, our treasury challenge in the next two weeks is to explore the fun of your ideal Halloween persona.  Favorite costume of the past?  Seasonal embracing?  Modern politics?  Local party inspiration?

To participate:

• Please include at least 4 SF Etsy team members (find with the tag "sfetsy" or "sf etsy") and don't forget that vintage and supplies hold some great treasures!  
• Please tag your treasury itself with the full "sfetsy team treasury" so we can find each other and get seen by Etsy.com admin.  
• In the description or first comment, link back to www.sfetsy.blogspot.com or www.fb.com/sfetsy so we can keep our community rolling.
• Highest number of favorites, shares, comments, and clicks will win your shop and treasury the next blog feature!
• Do message your featured sellers to let them know they are in your treasury and share your treasury in the SF Etsy team google groups as well as your own social media to spread your story!

Celebrating "Home Again" with the character of our Bay Area neighborhoods, we had myself (Even), Amanda Jayne, Lisa Spinella, Moria Hart, Jen Norton, Imelda, and Irina Lib curate treasuries and together we generated over 1700 views!  It's wonderful getting to know each other better too, please do chat in the comments and be friendly~

Our winning treasury was created by Lisa Spinella of TickleandSmash with nearly 450 interactions!  Go Lisa!  Lisa makes fantastic handbags in gorgeous and fun collage combinations.  Check out her very spooky Evilest Pazuzu bag, just in time for the scariest time of the year!

Halloween tote by Lisa Spinella of Tickle and Smash.

'Home Again - Lower Haight San Francisco' by TickleandSmash

SFEtsy Team Treasury Challenge! What I Love about My Neighborhood - The Lower Haight

theheated $44.00	BeetleBlossom $4.00	smallthreads $43.00
EzmeDesigns $28.00	RossLab $34.00	Strazor $120.00
ckuhwald $5.00	NerdJerk $12.80	MarieKelzerDes... $22.00
WooHue $15.00	ourhousedesign $60.00	AndreaFuentesD... $44.00
firehosebelts $40.00

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

Thanks for participating! Our bi-weekly treasury challenges are open to all.  You can click "Create a List" on the right side of any existing treasury to begin your own.  I recommend using two open windows to make it easy to cut and paste listing numbers.  There's also the Treasury Tool from Shmetsy which is an add on app that helps you make treasuries faster (no cut and paste!) as well as message everyone in your treasury that they have been featured.  

~Even

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Tuestorial - BOO! Halloween Costume Ideas

Happy Tuesday to all my Witches and Goblins!

Halloween is less than a week away...and if you're like me, finding the time to get costumes ready is just one of those things that gets pushed to the back burner until just before it's time to go out and get some candy! Not only that...I'm a cheap crafty lady...I'd much rather spend my money on craft supplies (and bite-sized Snickers) than a pre-fab Halloween costume.

As I was brewing up my spooktacular costume idea...other ideas popped into my head and I thought...self, this would be a great Tuestorial.
I sketched out some ideas for you... just in case you're still on the "haunt" for something easy to build just before you head out the door.

Don't mind my sketches...ha ha... they are meant to give you a little smile AND get the basic idea across for each costume.

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BE A BUNCH o' GRAPES! (for a kid or an adult)



Materials:
Purple Balloons
Black or purple extra large shirt
purple leggings
purple beanie

What's Great about this?:
if you get an extra large T-Shirt... you'll have some more room to maneuver around during the evening.

How To:
All you have to do is staple (or hot glue) the balloons onto your shirt. That's it!

- Extra credit -
Be a bubble bath! all you have to do here is wear all white, use white balloons and attach a yellow rubber ducky to either your "bubbles" or the top of your beanie!

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BE A PIECE OF SUSHI!
Okay, so this would work as an adult costume (if you just wore all white), but can't you see how cute it would be if it were on a baby?! And technically, this costume is a piece of Nigiri Sushi (just in case you get that hard question). :)



Materials:
White Onesie
Black felt
Orange Felt (the "salmon")


What's Great about this?:
Babies don't need to overheat in a large pumpkin for their first Halloween...and everyone will just love these creative idea!

How To:
hot glue the felt orange rectangle to the front of the onesie
Then, wrap the black band loosely around the onesie (measure the band on your baby first, so you know how big around you need it).

I think it goes without saying...you want to make this costume when the onesie is NOT on the baby... but I'm just sayin' that as a blanketed legal footnote.

- Extra credit -
Take a black baby headband and glue on a bright green piece of "wasabi" felt to the top of it. It will be the perfect accessory.


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BE CANDY CORN -or- A GNOME!

What's funny about these two ideas is that they are basically the same thing... just a different arrangement of colors! This means, you can look at what clothing you already have...and go from there!




Materials:
Long sleeve t-shirt in either orange or light blue
Pants in either dark blue, brown or yellow
Construction paper in either white or red


What's Great about this?:
Like I mentioned before, these two ideas are basically the same thing. AND they are made from very basic materials...so, if you needed to get one of the items quickly, you can easily get them at Goodwill or your local store.


How To For the Candy Corn:
Look at a piece of candy corn - as you can see...the candy goes from yellow(or brown) at the bottom, then to orange for the middle, and then white at the top. That's basically it. All you have to do, is where those colors and make yourself a hat.
For fun, you could glue candy corn to the hat (maybe just at the rim)...then people will know exactly what you are. Super comfortable and SUPER easy!


How To For the Gnome:
Similar to the Candy Corn...all you need for this is to wear a light blue top, dark jeans or brown pants (brown would be like David The Gnome) and then make yourself a red cone hat out of paper. Then, use a belt or a piece of felt to wrap it around your waste for that extra-gnomey look.
For the beard, you can just paint white on your face like a beard or leave yourself as-is for that young-gnome look.

- Extra credit -
Think of other costumes that you can spin off of this same idea... such as, a crayon! Make a hat, just like for the above costumes and then wear a matching shirt and pants. Using felt, cut out the word "crayon" and hot glue it to your shirt.
One of my favorite colors is pink... but maybe you'd want to be green or even magenta!



We are all very creative people... but sometimes, we have to push ourselves to think a little outside of the box during Halloween with very little time to take away from our Etsy businesses. Hopefully these few ideas have given you some inspiration.

PLACES TO GATHER SUPPLIES IN THE BAY AREA!

Scrap - a great resource for cheap craft supplies - all proceeds go to the Unified School District of SF

Our Craft Swap - THIS weekend!!! - This weekend, if you're feeling REALLY last minute...come to the Craft Swap and see if you can't swap someone for that last minute supply you couldn't find anywhere else!

Boneflowers! - a wonderful woman by the name of Jenna owns this great shop with amazing vintage finds and steampunk jewelry. She's also a great stylist and would be happy to help you find that perfect Halloween costume.


And for a final giggle:
This is one of my costumes I'll likely be wearing this year. My friend Astra Brinkmann (also the photographer) and I built this dress from an old prom dress I had laying around. Lots of hot glue to put that skirt together. Which comes to my final point... look around your house. Do you have a old prom dress you've been hanging out to? Maybe you can be a zombie bride... that's always a great go-to.

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!