a tale of two bags

togetherdespite the dickensian title of this post, the story behind these two bags is rather brief.  it started with the bag in the back (the one with the liberty mirabelle straps).  it came to me in a sort of vision . . . a simple little tote bag with just a touch of liberty (because you know, a little bit of liberty goes a long way!)

and i had so much fun making bag 1 in the back, that another idea for a dainty little bag crafted from nani iro’s clear heart fabric popped into my head shortly afterwards.  plus, it’s my friend A’s birthday today and this fabric just seemed like her! (although it’s turning into a belated birthday present since i’m still in the process of locating an appropriate zipper. . . mea culpa).

will probably put together some tutorials in the next few days (still some kinks i need to work out) . . . but until then, enjoy the photos.

mirabellemirabelle2mirabelle3clearheart clearheart2

 

isoceles shell: prototype #2 (sue)

 sue-frontso here it is! version 2 of the isoceles shell from before sewn up in two contrasting fabrics.  this version is sort of a “reverse mullet” — it’s a party up front and business in the back!sidethe fabric in the front panel is liberty sue b, which we just got in for AW15.  the fabric in the back is robert kaufman’s chambray union slubby dot.

backstill haven’t acquired a tripod or selfie stick . . . but here it is on me (yikes!)  hopefully you’ll be at the very least amused at my attempts to contort myself to fit inside the photos.    stepping in front of the camera is very much out of my comfort zone. i’ll leave that to my trusty dress form and professional models.

combined1combined-2

maybe i should extend the length and make this into a dress next?

 

isoceles shell: prototype #1

side

minor miracle!  we actually found some time to finish a project . . . this is the isoceles shell, so named after the isoceles triangles that make up the side panels.  frontadmittedly, it doesn’t look like much hanging on the dress form (need to find a tripod or selfie stick!), but it’s become a summer wardrobe go-to! being double gauze, the fabric is soft, breathable and something to be lived in!   the isoceles side panels create movement and ease . . . but more so, the panels effectively move the side seams forward on a slant . . .  in a way that is quite figure flattering. closeup additional prototypes being conceived behind the scenes! (and hopefully better photos for round 2)

a doubly curious camellia oil gauze

Ewe ordered these wonderful aqua bloom double gauzes from yuwa six months ago and they finally arrived!

912434-A-Ewhile we swoon over the delicate and lyrical watercolour florals, the magic is really in the cloth itself!

closeupThe base cloth of these double gauzes features a camellia flower that has been woven into the cloth.   What’s more the fabric has been treated with a proprietary “SmoothSkin” process, where camellia oil (also known as  camellia japonica oil or tsubaki) is adhered to the fabric, giving it a soft and luxurious feel.

Now we did some sleuthing around the internet, and apparently camellia oil has all sorts of skin-enhancing properties.  It’s loaded with anti-oxidants, absorbs into the skin quickly and is rich in nourishing vitamins and minerals.

Read more about it here:
Tatcha

Wawaza

Oil Health Benefits

Goldport Beauty

Please note: we are not endorsing any of the products on the website linked above.  They just seem to be an interesting read about the potential beauty benefits of camellia oil!

bagel spotting!

bagel-sculpturewe ♥ bagels. and can you imagine our curiosity when these giant stacked bagel sculptures started popping up in and downtown nyc!  spotted one this morning on 6th & greenwich ave.  there’s one in hudson river park around christopher street too that we’ve seen.

apparently these ginormous odes to the bagel are by swedish artist hanna liden.

 

 

beloved

Winder-with-yarnthe other day, knitwear designer extraordinare michele wang shot us an email asking if we liked our heavy duty ball winder from nancy’s knit knacks.   being on a spotty wifi connection while on vacation and heavily distracted by this fellow with the big stick. . . 

this-fellow. . . we probably didn’t properly communicate how much we LOVE our ball winder!  

Winder-Stillwe have the motorized version (which means no more hand-cranking for us!) it’s also got a special piece of technology in it that triggers the motor to stop if it come across a tangle in the skein which would require you to stop and unravel.

it’s lovely.  it’s wonderful. how did we ever live without this beautiful piece of machinery?  even shot a video of the ballwinder in action (which the little man finds immensely entertaining to watch)!  apologies for the lack of audio, the tv was blaring in the background.  the winder makes a soothing humming sound that’s not annoying at all!

is it worth its heavy price tag?  for us, it is!  if you find yourself winding a lot of yarn, particularly skeins greater than 75g in size or art yarn that doesn’t fit thru the loop of your run of the mill yarn winder,  this might just be nancy’s knit knacks’ answer to all your yarn winding dilemmas.

ps. that’s rhichard devrieze’s peppino in go lightly, taking an inaugural ride on our yarn winder!

refresh!

screenshot

starting at 2.30 pm EST today, we’re updating our website with a fresh look!  our update should be completed in 2-3 hours.  our site will be shown as “down for maintenance.” if you have any questions or issues during this time, please contact us at info@jonesandvandermeer.com.

thank you for your patience!

UPDATE: The website updates have been completed!  Hurrah!

noodlehead’s handmade style

cover look what just landed!  just received noodlehead (aka anna graham)’s handmade style book that we pre-ordered many many months ago.  took a quick flip thru the book and it’s chock full of projects that scream (MAKE ME!!!).  what really caught our eye, however, is this tunic:

tunicsuch easy breezy summer chic!  now to figure out which liberty print to whip it up in!

ps. we’ve ordered the book for the shop too!  it will be here shortly! just arrived and can be found in the shop here!

 

 

 

munchkin’s harem pants

for some time now, we’ve been dreaming about dressing munchkin boy in harem pants (is that odd?).  finding ourselves with a few spare moments in the studio, we decided to whip up a pattern and make a prototype!

combined-detailsthe ones here are stitched out of cotton + steel’s bespoke ephemera double gauze print.  we used just 3/4 yard of the fabric, and fortunately little munchkin’s legs are still short enough that we could cut the fabric along its width so as to achieve a vertical stripe pattern.

and now all we have to do is locate that ‘lil rascal to see how the prototype fits!

just located him . . . photos here!