Most of the news in this issue had been borrowed from the chapters’ Facebook pages. Find them by typing Association of Sewing and Design Professionals in your Facebook search box – keep up with these chapters’ news by Liking their pages!
Members of the Oregon chapter recently had an archivist from Jantzen as guest speaker. The talk “Jantzen through the decades” covered the history of Jantzen, bathing vs. swimming suit, and how progressive and cutting edge Jantzen has been. The chapter’s April draping workshop with Catherine Stephenson filled so quickly that additional dates in May have been added. This seminar is open to both ASDP members and non-members. Details are posted on the ASDP Events calendar.
For the Baltimore Chapter, photography was the topic for the recent chapter meeting, held at a Baltimore photographer’s studio. Members were shown how to best photograph their work. A shopping stop nearby, A Fabric Place, was the natural followup, with members focused on knits for the knit dresses they’re making for their chapter challenge this year.
Several New England chapter members offered alteration services at the Princess Boutique in early March, making on-the-spot adjustments to prom dresses donated to local teens. Members all over the country have talked about similar events they’ve attended, either with other chapter members or on their own. I’d love to be able to share more news of ASDP members giving back to their communities!
In the Heartland chapter, a January meeting was devoted to a program on Personal Branding for Sewing and Design Professionals, entitled “Authentic Professionalism.” The presenter is an image coach and consultant, who gave members a personality profile and tips on developing and packaging a personal brand image for their businesses through clothing. The presentation included a strategic plan for building and maintaining that personal brand through consistent image practices.
This isn’t really chapter news, but speaking of the Heartland chapter –Donna Christian (at the urging of Joyce Hittesdorf) asked my help to post a project to the discussion list. The garment had members wowed! A custom gown made for a contest, designed by the client and executed by Donna, that’s simply out of this world!
Here is what she told me about this gown: “I have been working with a designer for the past month on a dress that she had designed and submitted to a competition run by a local fashion group.” It was an interesting design that had many challenges and pushed my comfort zone and skill set. This past Saturday, the designer entered a competition at the Palladium, the Performing Arts Center in Carmel, Indiana. It is not the usual type of dress I make for weddings. It is far from a modest dress that we would want our daughters to wear, but it was fun to have a good challenge. It took about 54 hours to construct. Since I had not worked with crocodile leather before, we had a master leather man construct the crocodile belts, but I sewed them onto the gown. The gown was presented, along with 6 other entries, before a concert by the Cameron Carpenter Concert and Carmel Symphony Philharmonic Concert this past Saturday evening. The 7 designs were voted on by the audience. Our dress won first place!
The dress in total cost over $3,000 for labor, materials, and leatherwork.
Written by Janee Connor, VP of Chapter Relations
