Greetings from The Jazz Age Lawn Party!

Posted on August 22, 2011 by admin

Couldn’t help but admire Laura Windley & Heidi Rosenau’s fabulous vintage hats at yesterday’s Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governor’s Island! Michael Arenella and His Dreamland Orchestra inspired late 20’s and early 30’s oufits like theirs and lots of high spirited steps!

It was the perfect setting for swirling the skirt on your dress, this being one of my favorites!

Spirited dancers were in their element as the band played on!

And fun friends egged eachother on!

They even had antique autos parked out there for photo ops like this. My husband Martin sports a handsome hat he had just bought at Worth & Worth – one of the best booths to shop at!

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Bon Vivant Pattern Testing!

Posted on August 12, 2011 by admin

I’m blessed with some lovely friends at Pink Chalk Fabrics who tested my first patterns! Above is a detail from Carrie’s mini apron that was inspired by her niece!

I love the happy pattern mixing!

Carrie said the small size ruffle and bodice could be made from fat quarters and she used 1/2 yard cuts for the skirt and straps. She gave us a few tips and as you can see had a lot of fun making it! Many Thanks Carrie! We can’t wait to see your niece in it!

Next we have the adult apron that Tracy tested for us. She revised  some shaping to the top so that it would be more universally flattering. We also appreciate her simplifing the pocket and figuring out an easier way to put the bodice & skirt together. You’ll get to appreciate that more specifically once the pattern is printed (soon I promise!)..

We here at Bon Vivant so appreciate the time and efforts made by Tracy and Carrie and all their helpful feedback! They’ve made me a true admirer of their creations!! You can purchase my apron pattern at www.pinkchalkfabrics.com

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Sasha in her Bon Vivant dress!

Posted on August 1, 2011 by admin

Here at Bon Vivant we’re so delighted to share our latest creation with you! Meet Sasha who inspired this poodle party dress using my Bon Vivant fabrics from Windham!

http://www.windhamfabrics.com/cgi-bin/fabricshop/gallery.cgi?Category=465

I designed the dress and collaborated with Rose Hittmeyer who did a lovely job sewing it for us! The detachable rosette was created by Myra Martin. I’ll be incorporating the dress and rosette into our next pattern!

Think of the joy you could create using my Bon Vivant fabrics – we can’t thank Sasha and her Mom Carrie enough for capturing the spirit in these fun photos! xX

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New Bon Vivant Confetti Block!

Posted on July 21, 2011 by admin

Check out our new Bon Vivant Confetti block using fabrics from my second collection for Windham!

http://www.windhamfabrics.com/cgi-bin/fabricshop/gallery.cgiCategory=465

It is 14″ x 14″ and using a domino and square layout. I designed it and it was beautifully sewn for us by Jane Fried Sheinfeld of The Pieced Palette! I’m now trying to decide who would love a pillow made out of this..

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New Rosette Confections and Poodle Tie!

Posted on July 6, 2011 by admin

Check out our newest Bon Vivant creations using my Windham fabrics! Myra Martin has outdone herself! The addition of the covered buttons really makes these special – please note the red Paris map rosette button shows off the caviar motif! She started to think also about tie embellishments like the poodle one here which we’re looking forward to showing you on a unique tuxedo shirt later. I tried it on a grey jersey T-shirt and couldn’t help thinking of coordinating lounge shorts!

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New Rosette!

Posted on June 29, 2011 by admin

Inspired by my friend Carrie’s daughter Sasha, Myra of Myra Martin Design and I came up with this new rosette design ( 6 inches in diameter) using my Bon Vivant fabrics from Windham, black grosgrain ribbon, and a red button! This is the prototype and we plan to make another detachable brooch like it for her dress (pending Sasha’s approval of course ;)! Myra is passionate about product development and brings a accomplished jewelry designer’s perspective to us. Can’t wait to embellish hats, bags, and the like with these also! Tutorials to follow..

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Poodle Party Dress!

Posted on June 5, 2011 by admin

One day I saw my sweet neighbor Cameron jumping in the courtyard near the lobby of our building. She stopped me in my tracks. Cami so reminded me of Audrey Hepburn jumping in that famous Philippe Halsam photo which was one of the original inspirations for my Bon Vivant fabric collection for Windham.

http://www.windhamfabrics.com/cgi-bin/fabricshop/gallery.cgi?Category=465

For that reason I’m calling this the Jump for Joy dress and it the first in my new Bon Vivant children’s clothing line – it will also be a pattern! To make the dress easier to maintain we made the rosette on a brooch pin so that it’s detachable while the rest is being cleaned. Many Thanks to Cameron for inspiring the dress, to Ella Sawtell for sewing it with such grace, and to Ania (Cami’s Mom) for these lovely photos!

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Bon Vivant Neckroll 2!

Posted on May 31, 2011 by admin

Just in time for summer lounging here’s my next pillow idea! You can use the instructions previously written for my Juliet accent pillow at

http://www.windhamfabrics.com/cgi-bin/fabricshop/projects.cgi

Just pick your favorite prints (from Windham’s Bon Vivant or Juliet I hope..). Many thanks to Jane Fried Sheinfeld of The Pieced Palette for whipping this up for us!

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Bon Vivant Poodle Pillow!

Posted on May 18, 2011 by admin

Check out our latest creation with my Bon Vivant fabrics from Windham! Perfect for reading, or snoozing and easy enough to take on the go! Designed by me and sewn beautifully by Ella Sawtell. Another pattern is in the works..

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Bon Vivant Little Loungers!

Posted on May 5, 2011 by admin

My niece Hayley’s son RHYS turns 1 year old today! To wish him a special Happy Birthday I designed these lounge pants using my Bon Vivant fabrics from Windham! The turquoise map print is #32164-2, cuffs and back pocket are Poodles in #32169-2!

One of my most gifted sewists Ella Sawtell I think did a terrific job constructing them! It’ll be one of our next patterns! Can’t wait to see him in them! For a girl I might suggest the red/black poodles #32169-1 cuffing in B/W Paris Poppies #32168-7! If you have your own pattern, why postpone joy?

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